Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A Fearless Females Prompt

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

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

 1)  Read Lisa Alzo's blog post Back for a Fourth Year: Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women's History Month on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist.  [Yes, I know it was last year, but Lisa's using the same list this year.]

2)  Choose one of her daily blog prompts from the list (this is March 8th, do that one if you don't want to choose another), and write about it.

3)  Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, in a Facebook post or a Google+ post.

Here's mine:
 I chose the March 8th prompt :  "Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt."

My grandmother, Ethel Ranney Tapley (1913-1973) kept a diary in 1933 and 1934.  I have shared them here on this blog.  (To read entries from those diaries, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California."  All posts are listed there.)

Ethel Ranney Tapley

My great-grandmother, Bessie Carter Ranney (1883-1960), kept a diary in 1929.  I have also shared that diary here on this blog.  (Those entries can also be found under the topic "California.")

Bessie Carter Ranney

I am grateful for the small glimpses into their everyday lives.  I really got a feel for Grandma's dry humor and what a loving mother my great-grandmother was.

On my father's side, I have a letter that my Aunt Irene (Irene Tapley Thomas [1925-2004]) wrote to her mother (my grandmother), Nealie Drake Tapley (1895-1970).  It's a short, new-sy type letter.  I have no idea when it was written, probably between 1967-1970.   

"Wed. P.M.

Dear Mom,
  It sure was good to hear you went thru the surgery O.K. And hope every thing turns out O.K. guess Blanche told you I called her this morning, I sure felt better after I heard from you - I was supposed to go to the Dr. to-day, but I put it off til next week, As I've got to go to my nerve Dr. Friday, And I just wasn't up to going to-day.  I can't do too much going, I'm just not up to it, I can't hold out. Bart has got the kitchen almost finished, all he lacks now is finishing the cabinets, and putting the tile on the floor, I think its going to be right pretty, Its just kinda large.  Mom, Jackie Tapley & her husband has been here for the last 30 days, And I've really enjoyed being with her, you know she sure is nice & sweet, you know I've always loved her, And she has talked a lot about you, they are fixing to leave, I hate to see her go.  Well I'll stop for now, don't worry and get well soon.  We love you.

Love Always,
Irene & Bart"

Nealie Drake Tapley

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Valentine's Day!

Dear genealogists everywhere, it's Saturday Night!  Time for some Genealogy FUN.  
  

Normally, this is where I would refer you to Randy Seaver's blog, Genea-Musings, and pass along the assignment for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.  However, since I have never had a particularly memorable Valentine's Day (his mission for this week), I have chosen to put my own spin on some Valentine's "fun" for this post.

I decided to go to my FTM database and find out who has been born or got married on February 14th.  (There should be an easier way than what I used to find this information in FTM... if anyone has suggestions, please share!)  As I was thinking about this, I wondered how long has Valentine's Day been around and did my ancestors celebrate it?  Did they plan to have their wedding(s) on the day of love or did it just work out that way?  I didn't find the answer to THAT question, but I did discover that Valentine's Day has been around... if not forever, then at least for a very, very long time.  The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in 1382.  By 1797, printers had bung producing a cards with verses that were the forerunners of the modern Valentine.  In the 1800's handwritten notes gave way to mass-produced greeting cards.  (Valentine's Day. (2013, February 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:04, February 10, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valentine%27s_Day&oldid=537352548)

I found only nine people in my database of 5,319 people who were born on February 14:

 1) Ralph Hubbard, born 1804, my 3rd cousin, 5x removed

 2) Jennie May Mayo Snider, born 1869, 2nd cousin of my Grand Uncle James L. "Jim" Tapley's wife, Maggie Powell Tapley

 3) Sarah Theodora Price Tapley, born 1880, my grand aunt, married to my Grand Uncle George Washington Sentell Tapley

George Washington Sentell Tapley and Sarah Theodora Price Tapley

  4) Eugene Pool (or Poole), born 1899, brother of my Uncle James Tillman Tapley's wife, Reida Mae Poole Tapley

  5) Jaqueline "Jackie" Tapley Snell, born 19XX, my father's first cousin and my first cousin, 1x removed

Jackie and Bill Snell, September 2010

  6) Theodore "Ted" George Bakan, born 19XX, my Aunt Evelyn Tapley Bakan's husband

Ted and Aunt Evelyn, October 2009

  7) Lynn Arthur Holyoak, born 19XX, my 8th cousin, 1x removed

  8) Jerri Patricia Powell, born 19XX, the grand niece of my Uncle Jack Dempsey Tapley's wife, Blanche Dixon Tapley

  9) Shawn Thomas, born 19XX, my 1st cousin, 1x removed

Amazingly, even though it is obvious from my research that Valentine's Day has been a day for lovers from at least the late 1700's, I found only one couple in my entire family tree that married on February 14:

Oris Irene Tapley, my 1st cousin, 1x removed, and James Leonard Price married on February 14, 1932.

James Leonard Price and Oris Irene Tapley Price, photo courtesy of their daughter, Joyce Price Moore

 

 

Military Monday: Memorial Day Roll Call

On this Memorial Day, 2011, I would like to take a moment to recognize and thank those from my family lines who have served our country in the military forces:

Revolutionary War

Exum Drake, 10th Regiment, North Carolina Continental Line
David Hubbard, Unit Unknown
Solomon Page, Corporal, "Bailey's Company", North Carolina
John Tapley Patterson, Unit Unknown
Mark Patterson, Unit Unknown, North Carolina
Comfort Ranney, Pvt, Unit Unknown
Nathaniel Ranney, Pvt, Unit Unknown
Thomas Erastus Redman, Unit Unknown
Stephen Swain, Ensign, 8th North Carolina Battalion of Foot

War of 1812

Isaac Ozmun, Major

Civil War

Elijah Samuel Beasley, Private, Co. I, 48th Georgia Infantry
Thomas J. Brantley, Private, Co. D, 59th Georgia Infantry "Bullard Guards"
Ezra Carter, Unit Unknown
Zachariah Claxton, Sergeant, Co. E, 48th Georgia Infantry
Francis Milton Drake, Private, Co. G, 32nd Georgia Infantry 
James William Drake, Private, Co. G, 32nd Georgia Infantry
John Saffold Drake, Jr. Second Lieutenant, Co. G, 32nd Georgia Infantry 
Thomas Lamar Drake, Unit Unknown
Norris N. Durden, Unit Unknown
John W. Harrell, Unknown South Carolina Unit
Alphonso Davis Hesser, Company F, 123rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Harrell Solomon Horton, Unit Unknown (Made the ultimate sacrifice)
Bennet Kea, Unit Unknown
Dennis Kea, Unit Unknown
James W. Kea, Unit Unknown
Warren Kea, Unit Unknown (Made the ultimate sacrifice at Antietem)
Wesley Kea, Unit Unknown
John Nelson Key, Unit Unknown
John W. Mayo, Pvt, Co. F, 14th Georgia Infantry
James Ashley Pollett, Unit Unknown
Sampson Powell, Pvt, Co. F, 48th Georgia Infantry
Elias Price, Pvt, Co. F, 48th Georgia Infantry
Elisha Pullen, Unit Unknown (Made the ultimate sacrifice)
Comfort Ranney, Private, Co. D, 61st Infantry Regiment, Ohio
Edward George Ranney, Unit Unknown (Made the ultimate sacrifice at Gettysburg)
William Ostrander Ranney, Private, Co. B, 22nd Regiment Wisconsin Vols.
Lawson Y. Riner, Unit Unknown
George W. Schwalls, Private, Co. E, 48th Georgia Infantry; Engineer, CSA Navy 
John Wesley Snell, Unit Unknown
Benson Tapley, Unit Unknown
Francis M. Tapley, 1st Corporal, Company F, 48th Georgia Infantry,  "Johnson County Battleground
     Guards" (Made the ultimate sacrifice at The Crater, Petersburg, Virginia)
James Madison Tapley, Pvt, Company F, 48th Georgia Infantry
John Curtis Tapley, Pvt, Company F, 48th Georgia Infantry
Henry Green Wheeler, Company F, 48th Georgia Infantry 

World War I

Ellie Alonzo Drake, SK3, U.S. Navy
Horace D. Lindsey, Pvt, 230 PW Escort Co ASC
Dennis Newton Meeks, Pvt, U. S. Army
Leaston E. Powell, Pvt, U.S. Army
Charlie George Townsend, Unit Unknown
Johnnie William Townsend, Pvt, U.S. Army

World War II

Ellie Brooks Drake, SSgt, U.S. Air Force
E. R. Gilmer, U.S. Army
William Marion McLendon, Unit Unknown
Roy Page, U.S. Army
George A. Perdue, Sgt, 22nd Infantry, 4th Infantry Division
Bemis Josey Powell, Private, U.S. Army
Jordan Benjamin Powell, Private, U.S. Army
Leslie E. Powell, Sgt, U.S. Army
Roy D. Powell, U.S. Army
Virgil Willard Powell, U.S. Navy
Charlie H. Schwalls, PFC, U.S. Army
Rufus S. Schwalls, U.S. Army
Charles Morgan Tapley, U.S. Navy
Edward Tapley, Unit Unknown
James Cullen "J.C." Tapley, PFC, U.S. Army, 168th Infantry, 34th Division (Made the ultimate
     sacrifice in Italy)
John Russell Tapley, Pvt, U.S. Army
Alton Clifton Thomas, U.S. Army
Johnnie William Townsend, PFC, U.S. Army
Joe C. Tyson, U.S. Army
Robert Alexander Weatherup, U.S. Navy Commander 
Woodrow Wheeler, TSgt, U.S. Army

Korean Conflict

Billy Moye Claxton, SSgt, U.S. Air Force
Franklin Roosevelt Claxton, U.S. Army
Ellie Brooks Drake, SSgt, U.S. Air Force
William Marion Josey, Cpl, U.S. Army
Marvin Schwalls, Cpl, U.S. Army
Carlton James Tapley, PFC, U.S. Army
Robert Alexander Weatherup, U.S. Navy Commander 

Vietnam Conflict

William Marion McLendon, Jr., SP5, U.S. Army

Other Military Service

Watson Alvin Chance, U.S. Army
Eddie Barton Claxton, U.S. Air Force
Jack Ira Drake, U.S. Army
Woodrow Powell, Unit Unknown
Samuel Ranny, 7th Co., Capt Herlihy, 1st Regiment, French-Indian War
Charlie F. Sconyers, U.S. Army; Georgia National Guard
Homer Lee Smith, Pvt, U.S. Marine Corps
Charles Morgan Tapley, U.S. Navy
Hugh Dorsey Tapley, Pvt, U.S. Army
Herschel Miles Tapley, U.S. Army
Vertie L. Tapley, Unit Unknown
William Hubert Tapley, U.S. Army

Tombstone Tuesday: Irene Tapley Thomas

Irene Tapley Thomas

(interesting note - She did not have a middle name.)

DOB July 25, 1925

DOD April 15, 2004

buried at

Rowland Cemetery

near Chester in Dodge County, Georgia

It was a beautiful day here in Georgia on Saturday, so we took a road trip down to Dodge County to find my Aunt Irene's grave.  She was my father's sister.  We went right to it even though it a long way out in the country - almost an hour south of Macon.  I can't image driving in a funeral possession that far!  It's a beautiful little cemetery, with many unmarked graves.  

To demonstrate just how far out in the country it is, here is a picture of the street signs for the nearest crossroads.

East Chicken Rd - LOL.  You've got to love it!