Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Tombstone Tuesday

 


Teresa Marie Price Lynn

b 24 Dec 1929 in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, USA

d 15 Jan 1999 in Pembroke Pines, Broward, Florida, USA


laid to rest at

Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery

Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA


buried beside Teresa is her husband,


 Marion Eleatus Lynn
b 26 Sep 1924 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA
d 20 Nov 1989 in Richmond County, Georgia, USA


Teresa is my 5th cousin, 3x removed.  


Our common ancestors are

John Moore and Sarah Norris.



Monday, March 2, 2026

Madness Monday

 Just a few days ago, I was on Newspapers.com searching for an obituary for my cousin's husband, Walter C. Cochrane.  This came up in the list of possible matches:


The Tuscaloosa News, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 14 Nov 1923
via Newspapers.com

My Walter C. Cochrane was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1915.  However, there are two glaring problems already.  The spelling of the last name is not the same and this incident happened in 1923 when my Walter would have only been 8 years old. While not impossible, I guess, I do not believe Walter C. Cochrane was married or killed his wife at the age of 8.  

But before moving on, I stopped and read the entire little article, and realized it is just madness.  The piece is out of Belleville, Illinois.  Mr. Cochran was granted a change of venue to Nashville - what?  Nashville, Tennessee?? But no, I found out there is a Nashville, Illinois.  Also Mr. Cochran "formerly resided at Wichita Falls, Texas?!"  What did that have to do with it?  And the piece was run in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama newspaper.  Why?  I am guessing it was printed there either to add some sensationalism to their day's paper or to just fill some space. 

Oh and let us not overlook the "alienists!"  I discovered this is what psychiatrists used to be called!

I enjoy running across these interesting tidbits while browsing old newspapers.  I hope you got a chuckle out of it, too.

Monday, February 23, 2026

Military Monday

 

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

  

Virgil Willard Powell
1916-1958
U.S. Navy, World War II


Virgil was my 2nd cousin.  Our common ancestors are James Madison "Jim" Tapley and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page.

Thank you for your service.

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- What Was the Great Love Story in Your Family Tree?

  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)  It's Valentine's Day - a day for lovers!  We all have hundreds of love stories in our ancestry.

2) What was the great love story of the ancestors in your family tree? What wedding had a great story in it? Choose one ancestral couple. Share how they met (if known), when and where they married. Note how long they were married. Highlight something that suggests affection or partnership.

3)  Share your great love story in your family tree in your own blog post, 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 to help us find your post.

Here's mine:

Lusion Keman "Loosh" Tapley 1870-1935
and
Mattie Schwalls 1877-1912


Lusion Tapley was my "Papa," my paternal grandfather.  Mattie Schwalls was his second wife, but she was  undoubtedly the love of his life.  Or at the very least he was the love of hers.    

While I do not know how they met, the story is that Papa and Mattie were engaged in 1897-1898 or so.  However, before they could marry, a wrench got thrown into the works.  A wrench that I believe shows what a good, honorable man my Papa must have been.

Papa's first cousin, 1x removed, Martha "Jane" Page (1875-1899), came to him with a problem.  Her father was going to force her (or had promised her) to marry a much older man.  She did not want to do that.  So to help her, Papa agreed to marry her.  They were married January 28, 1898 in Johnson County, Georgia.

And Mattie Schwalls waited.  

Papa and Jane's baby, Annie, was born on March 15, 1899.  Jane passed away on May 31 of the same year.  So they were only married 16 months.  Papa was left with a newborn, and he needed to work the fields in order to support himself and that baby.  So Lusion's parents, Jim and Becky Page Tapley, raised Annie.  

Time passed and Mattie Schwalls still had not moved on.  I don't know if they had to wait a respectable amount of time after Jane passed before they married or if Papa had some talking to do to get back in Mattie's good graces, but it was November 18, 1903 before Lusion and Mattie married in Johnson County, Georgia.  Almost 6 years after Lusion had married Jane Page.  

Mattie had waited, and they were finally together.  

Unfortunately, the union only lasted 8 1/2 years.  On April 26, 1912, Mattie and their 4th son died during childbirth.  

My father always said that his father loved Mattie Schwalls.  He felt the ornate monument (headstone) that Papa put on Mattie's grave was a symbol of that love and devotion.  So much so that when a storm came through Kite several years ago and that headstone was sheared in half, my father paid to have it repaired.  Mattie was not even his mother, but he respected the love his father had for her.