Wedding Wednesday - A Quaker Union

 

Ancestry.com, U.S., Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol I-VI, 1607-1943 
[database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013,
Henrico Monthly Meeting, Virginia.

    Transcription:

"1714/15,1, 8. Sarah, dt John, Charles City Co.; m Robert Elyson" which means:

Sarah Crew

daughter of John Crew, 

married Robert Elyson [Ellyson]

on January 8, 1714/1715

in Charles City County, Virginia, USA

    Sarah is my 7th great-grandmother.

What did a Quaker wedding look like in 1714/1715 in Charles City County, Virginia?

ChatGPT supplied the following answer:

A Quaker wedding in 1714/1715 in Charles City County, Virginia would have looked quite different from the typical Anglican ceremonies of the time. The Quakers (also known as the Religious Society of Friends) had very distinctive practices rooted in simplicity, equality, and direct spiritual experience — and their weddings reflected those values.

Here’s what you could expect from such a wedding:

🕊️ 1. No Clergy Involved

Quakers did not believe in formal clergy. The bride and groom would marry themselves, in the presence of God and the meeting. They would typically say something like:

“In the presence of God and these our Friends, I take thee [name] to be my wife/husband, promising, with divine assistance, to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband/wife, so long as we both shall live.”

🕊️ 2. Held in a Meeting for Worship

The ceremony took place during a regular meeting for worship, likely in a meetinghouse or possibly in a home if no meetinghouse was available. The meeting would sit in silent worship, and when the couple felt led, they would stand and exchange their vows.

🕊️ 3. Simple, Modest Dress

Both bride and groom would wear plain, modest clothing, avoiding extravagance in keeping with Quaker beliefs. There would be no special wedding garments or jewelry.

🕊️ 4. Witnesses Sign a Wedding Certificate

A written marriage certificate was signed by the couple and all present Friends as witnesses — a powerful record of community support. These documents were often beautifully handwritten and are valuable genealogical records today.

🕊️ 5. Marriage “Intentions” Approved in Advance

Before marrying, the couple had to declare their intentions to the monthly meeting. The meeting would appoint a committee to ensure both parties were clear of prior commitments and were members in good standing.

🕊️ 6. Gender Equality

The ceremony emphasized mutual consent and spiritual equality — very progressive for the time. Quaker women had more agency in marriage than was typical in colonial society.

🕊️ 7. No Music, Flowers, or Festivity

Quaker weddings were deeply spiritual and free from music, decorations, or feasting — though simple gatherings afterward may have occurred, especially among family.

Military Monday

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

1962

Donald Wayne Johnson
SP4, U.S. Army, Vietnam

    Donald was my 3rd cousin 1x removed.  Our common ancestors are Solomon Page Jr. and Elizabeth Caroline Scoggins.

    Thank you for your service.

Tombstone Tuesday

 

Janice Snell Stone

b 21 Jul 1945 in Johnson County, Georgia, USA

d 14 Aug 2021 in Wrightsville, Johnson, Georgia, USA

laid to rest at

Bulloch Memorial Gardens

Statesboro, Bulloch, Georgia, USA

buried beside Janice is her husband,

 James Keith "Jimmy" Stone, Jr.
b 27 Oct 1944 in Monticello, Jasper, Georgia, USA
d 09 Oct 2007 in Georgia, USA

Janice is my 2nd cousin.  

Our common ancestors are

James Madison "Jim" Tapley

and Rebecca Elizabeth "Becky" Page Tapley.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Celebrate Mother's Day - Show Us Some Photos

 From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

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

1)  Sunday, May 11th is Mother's Day in the USA. Let's celebrate by showing some of our photos with our mothers.

2) Extra credit: What do/did you call your mother during her life? What do/did your children call your mother?

3)  More extra credit: Have you written a biography or tribute to your mother? If so, please share a link if you have one.

4)  Share your photo(s) and answer the questions above on your own blog, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook or other social media post.  Please leave a link to your post on this blog post so readers can respond.

Here's mine:

Mom and me - about 1968 - right here
in Augusta in the back yard of our house 
on Heard Avenue.

Here are Mom and me, along with my beloved
nephew, Harry Jr (next to me), my niece, Missi, 
right in front of Mom and me and some family friends
enjoying vacation at Grandfather Mountain in
North Carolina.  I was probably about 11 or 12 years old
here - so about 1978-1979.

Me with Mom and Dad
here in Augusta, June 2005

Mom and Me
Atlanta, 2010

Mom and me with family in
Jacksonville, Florida,
October 2022

As far back as I can remember, I have called my mother "Mom."  I do come out with "Mother" now and again when I am annoyed.  My Daisy-dog and the cats have always called her "Grandma."  

I have not written a tribute to my mother yet, but I did a blog post about her career with the telephone company.  You can read it here:  Workday Wednesday: My mother's career with the telephone company.

Friday's Faces From the Past

 

        Elizabeth Virginia "Lizzie" Tapley Powell is my grand-aunt, and James Marion Powell, Sr. was her husband for more than 60 years.  Our common ancestors are James Madison "Jim" Tapley and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page Tapley.

Tombstone Tuesday

 

Newbern Hatcher

b 03 Nov 1906 in Johnson County, Georgia, USA

d 22 Dec 1920 in Orland, Treutlen County, Georgia, USA

laid to rest at

Red Bluff Baptist Church Cemetery

Soperton, Treutlen, Georgia, USA

Son of

Isaac Winder Hatcher (1881-1963)

and Alice Donna Tharpe (1886-1975)

Newbern was only 14 years old when he was struck by lightening and killed.

Newburn was my 3rd cousin.  

Our common ancestors are

Solomon Page Jr

and Elizabeth Caroline Scoggins

Military Monday

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

Ollie Whitton "O.W." Tapley, Jr.

Sergeant, U.S. Army, World War II, Disabled

O.W. is my 3rd cousin 2x removed.  Our common ancestors are Archibald Odom III and Isabella Elizabeth Anderson.

    O.W. is also my 4th cousin, 1x removed on my Tapley line. This happens in my tree a lot since my ancestors hailed from small communities.

    Thank you for your service.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - How many Autosomal DNA Matches Descend from your Eight 2nd Great-Grandparents?

 From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

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

1)  How many autosomal DNA matches do you have descended from your eight 2nd great-grandparents (they would be your 3rd cousins)? Do you know how they are related to you? Have you corresponded with them? Why are your numbers high or low?

2) Share the number of your autosomal DNA matches for each of your 2nd great-grandparents, and answer the questions above on your own blog, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook or other social media post.  Please leave a link to your post on this blog post so readers can respond.

Here's mine:

The number of autosomal DNA matches I have on AncestryDNA (using the numbers from ThruLines) with a known common 2nd great-grandparent is:

    * George Washington Tapley (1814-1880) & Elizabeth Hicks (1824-1880):  64

    *  Solomon Page (1800-1860) & Elizabeth Caroline Scoggins (1802-1880):  288

    *  James William Drake (1829-1908) & Mary Ann Brantley (1837-1891):  13

    *  William Robert Harrell (1838-1908) & Catherine M Odom (1841-1875):  15

    *  James Madison "Jim" Tapley (1847-1912) & Elizabeth Rebecca 'Becky' Page (1844-1924):  49

    *  George W Schwalls (1837-1908) & Lincelia E "Celia" Claxton (1839-1882):  13

    *  Comfort Ranney (1838-1920) & Mary Margaret Hesser (1842-1920):  1

    *  Charles Kelso Carter (1843-1916) & Sarah Schoonover (1840-1918):  0

TOTAL = 443 (380 paternal; 63 maternal)

I am sure that there are many duplicates in the Tapley line.  

A1:  I have traced the lines from my 4th cousins (and closer) back to our common ancestor and entered them into my family tree in Family Tree Maker.  However there are many matches that that I have not been able to trace back to a common ancestor.  There are a lot of matches without family trees or I can trace only so far down but some generations are a black hole.  

A2:  I have tried to correspond with many of my matches, but I haven't had much luck.  Most never respond.  I seem to have more luck with finding cousins through my blog. 

A3:  The numbers are high or low for many reasons... some families have larger families than others (Tapley vs. Page for instance); some families have had more members test their DNA; my great-grandmother Carter was adopted so there are no matches on that line; and like I mentioned, a lot of DNA matches do not have a family tree or a very small family tree.  

I did not include matches I have at MyHeritageDNA because I could not figure out how to find matches per generation in an easy way like ThruLines.  

Sympathy Saturday

    Sympathy Saturday is where I share the obituaries and my condolences for members of my family tree who passed recently.  When you get to be a certain age, you begin to read the obituaries every day.  As the days go by, you read about more and more of your friends and family members who have died.  You compare their age to your own and get a jolt. "That could have been me." 

    For genealogists, checking obituaries and visiting cemeteries is as normal as breathing. I learn so much from an obituary, i.e., maiden names, parents' names; children's' and grandchildren's' names, funeral and burial locations, sometimes even a cause of death.  I want to learn these things not for any purpose but to put it on the family tree for future generations to see and learn about the family that went before them. I admit, most of these relatives I have never met, but I think it is important to share that they were here on this Earth, and they were important.

    So I am signed up with at least three funerals homes from Swainsboro, Vidalia, and Wrightsville to get daily notices of obituaries sent to my email.  Every day, I peruse them and with the help of the family tree, figure out who is related to me and add any new information to the tree.    Some weeks there are several, and some weeks there are none. So when I share one, it might be from a week or two ago.

Official Obituary of

James Thomas Claxton

April 30, 1936 ~ April 12, 2025 (age 88) Mr. James Thomas Claxton, age 88, of Tarrytown, died peacefully April 12, 2025, at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia

surrounded by his loving family.  He was born April 30, 1936, to Dock and Annie Brantley Claxton in Uvalda, Georgia.  He was a

charter member of Cornerstone Baptist Church where he had served as a deacon.  He graduated from Toombs Central High School

in 1954.  He was a proud Army veteran and a master machinist.  He was co-owner of Sikes Machine Shop in Metter for many years

and was known for his expertise in the field.  James loved Jesus and lived a life that exemplified his faith.  He was a devoted husband

and father and especially enjoyed his role as “Pa Pa” to his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  He played guitar and enjoyed

playing and singing gospel music.  He passed on his love and knowledge of the guitar to his sons and grandsons.  He is preceded in

death by a son, Joel Claxton; a grandson, Wil Ramsey; two brothers, Horace Claxton and Edwin Claxton; and a sister Sandra Clark.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Kay Memory Claxton; two sons, Greg Claxton and wife Karen, and Marty Morris and wife Mary; one daughter, Ginger McRae and husband Philip; five grandsons, Les Ramsey, Kevin Morris, Charlie Morris, Corey Claxton, and Troy Claxton; one granddaughter, Hannah Autry; ten great grandchildren; sisters Hortense Barnes, Velma Bryan, and Dorothy Day; brother-in-law JH Memory, and several nieces and nephews.

The funeral service will be Wednesday afternoon, April 16, 2025, at 3:00 in the chapel of Ronald V. Hall Funeral Home with Pastor Gaynor Ridgdill and nephew, Johnny Bryan officiating.  Burial will follow in the Williamson Family Cemetery in Montgomery County.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 until just prior to the service.

Pallbearers will be Les Ramsey, Kevin Morris, Charlie Morris, Corey Claxton, Troy Claxton, Cade Ramsey, Wynn Ramsey, and Ashley Lewis

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Cornerstone Baptist Church, 3429 GA Hwy 29, Vidalia, GA 30474.

The family would like to thank the staff of Meadows Hospital and Community Hospice for their loving care of James.

Ronald V. Hall Funeral Home of Vidalia is in charge of arrangements. - Obituary courtesy of Ronald V. Hall Funeral Home.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

James is my 3rd cousin, 1x removed.  Our common ancestors were
Zachariah William Claxton and Lincelia 'Lincely' Bush Claxton.

Please join me in offering condolences to James's family and holding them in the light.