Wednesday Woman

 

Let me try out a new blog post theme for Wednesdays.  In these posts, I will share information about a woman in my family tree whom I admire, know a story about, or know very little about in the hopes I will learn more from my readers.  

I am starting this series with my great-grandmother, Emma Vermell Harrell Drake (1867-1935).  She was my father's maternal grandmother, but he never knew her.  I do not know much about her, but hopefully someone out there can fill in some blanks.

Emma Vermell Harrell was born September 4, 1867 in Emanuel County, Georgia, the oldest child of William Robert Harrell (1838-1908) and Catherine M. Odom (1841-1875).  Emma's mother died when she was just 8 years old.  Her father remarried 2.5 years later and had two sons with his second wife, Winford "Mimie" Barwick (1853-1939).  

She married William John Drake (1857-1927) when she was only 15 years old on July 30, 1883.  John was 10 years older than her.  He was a widower with a 2.5 year old when he and Emma married.  I don't know for sure, but I am sure Emma raised that daughter after the marriage. They lived in the Adrian area. John was a Methodist preacher, so therefore, Emma was a preacher's wife.  

John and Emma had 9 children:

* Hattie Lay Drake (1884-1912).  

Hattie married George Wesley Wise (1883-1962) and they had one child,

        - Minne Sadie Wise (1911-1996).  

Hattie passed away from typhoid fever.  Interesting twist in that her widower, George Wesley Wise, married Hattie's half sister, her father's daughter from his first marriage, Samantha Augusta Drake (1881-1966).  He needed help raising Sadie and Samantha agreed.  

* Kenneth Catherine Drake (1886-1973)

Kenneth married Joshua Franklin Howell in 1907 and moved to South Carolina.  They had 10 children:

- Bessie Lou Howell (1909-1991)

- Luther William Howell (1912-1978)

- Louise Vermell Howell (1913-1986)

- Eula Mae Howell (1915-2001)

- Katie Marie Howell (1917-2004)

- William Thomas Howell Sr (1919-1994)

- Johnnie Doris Howell (1921-? )

- Viola Catherine Howell (1923-2019)

- Joshua Franklin Howell (Jr) (1925-?)

- Joseph Henry Howell Sr (1927-2003)

* William Lovick Drake (1892-1912) 

Lovick died from typhoid fever, same as his sister, Hattie.  It went through the entire family and everyone else recovered.

* Nealie Vermell Drake (1895-1970)

My grandmother.  She married Lusion Keman "Loosh" Tapley (1870-1935) in 1914.  She was his third wife and raised his three sons after the death of his second wife, Mattie Schwalls (1877-1912). Nealie and Loosh had six children of their own:

- William Lamar Tapley (1915-1985)

- John Russell "Russ" Tapley (1917-1967)

- Hugh Dorsey 'Dorse' Tapley (1919-2007)

- Jack Dempsey Tapley (1932-1994)

- Irene Tapley (1925-2004)

- Gilbert Earl Tapley (1928-2008) - My father.

* William Robert Drake (1897-1927)

Robert was married to Fannie Gallens. He was murdered when there was an altercation between him and a drifter he and his friends were harassing.  The drifter shot Robert. 

* James Weldon Drake (1900-1977)

James moved to Florida and married Corrie Evelyn Nicols (1906-2005).  They had 3 children:

- Sarah Joyce Drake (1927-?)

- James Robert Drake (1931-?)

- June Carol Drake (1936-2000)

* Keland Lawton Drake Sr (1903-1972)

Lawton also moved to Florida.  He married Maude Helen Crews (1908-1999) and they had 1 child:

- Keland Lawton Drake Jr (1932-2010)

* Nancy Mary Ann Drake (1906-1931)

Nancy married Alvin Donaldson and they had one child:

- Alvin Donaldson (Jr)

* Martha Lou Drake (1908-1986)

 Marthie was another one who relocated to Florida.  She married Leamon Ellison (1906-1987) and they had no children.  

That makes 23 grand-children for John and Emma Harrell Drake.  

On August 10, 1927 (just 2 months after their son, Robert, was murdered), John Drake, Emma's husband, got up in the middle of the night and went outside. When he returned, their son, James, accidentally shot his father, not realizing who it was until it was too late.  As he was dying John told that it was an accident, took the blame and therefore exonerated his son.

The story whispered in the family is that Emma was mentally "off." Crazy even.  I offer that she had good reason to be.  She lost her mother when she was very young. She lost 2 children to typhoid fever in 1912.  She herself had the fever and recovered. She lost a son to homicide in June 1927 and then her husband was shot and killed by their own son in August 1927.  

In addition, my grandmother evidently never saw or talked to her parents after she married my grandfather, Loosh Tapley.  I am guessing her parents were not thrilled with the 25 year age difference, that he had been married twice before, and he had 4 children from those marriages.  When I pointed out to my father that his grandmother, Emma, died three months after his father, he had no recollection of going to the funeral or his mother going.  He never met his grandmother.

Plus at least 3 of her other children moved away before Emma passed.  It would not be so easy to travel in the 1930's so I don't know how much she saw them.

So I would venture to say that Emma had to be a strong woman with a true faith that got her through all those hard things in her life.  She worked hard and was a faithful and loving wife and mother.  She deserves to be admired and honored.  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (Week 10): Strong Woman

Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is hosting a blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Since I need a swift kick in the you-know-what to get me blogging more regularly again, I thought I'd jump in.  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.  I'm probably going to be always behind on this exercise so don't go by the date and week I'm writing about and take it as accurate.  

My paternal Grandmother, Nealie Vermell Drake Tapley, 1895-1970, passed away when I was 3 years old.  I have only one memory of her.  I did not receive the blessing it would have been to get to know her.  However, from all accounts that I have been told, and the research I have done, it is obvious she was a very strong woman.

Nealie was born and grew up in Adrian, Emanuel County, Georgia.  She was the 4th child (of 9) of Rev. William John (or John William) Drake, 1857-1927 and Emma Vermell Harrell Drake, 1867-1935. There were many preachers in the Drake family through the generations.  Nealie's grandfather, James William Drake, 1829-1908, was the first minister at Poplar Springs Methodist Church in Adrian, where many Drakes worshipped and are now buried. 

Tragedy, hard times, and tough situations struck Nealie from an early age and continued throughout her life:

- Her oldest sister, Hattie Lay Drake Wise died from typhoid fever in July of 1912.

- Her older brother, William Lovick Drake died in December 1912, also from typhoid fever.

- Her younger brother, William Robert Drake, was murdered in June 1927.

- Her father was shot and killed in August 1927.  It was an accidental shooting by her brother, James Weldon Drake.

- A younger sister, Nancy Mary Ann Drake Donaldson died at age 25 in 1931.  I do not know her cause of death. 

- After marrying Papa (Lusion Keman Tapley) in 1914, she became estranged from her parents and did not see them much, if at all, before they passed. While I don't know the reason for the estrangement, I imagine it had something to do with her marrying a man 25 years older than her who had 4 children. 

- Upon marrying Papa, Nealie instantly had 3 boys to raise, ages 9, 6, and 4, who had lost their mother just two years earlier. 

- Nealie and Lusion lost their home/farm in 1932 as explained in my last blog post. 

- Papa died in 1935.

- Her mother died, also in 1935, just 3 months after Papa passed. My father told me he did not remember Nealie going to the funeral. 

- For the next several years after Papa's death, as the head of the family, Nealie had to work many different jobs to feed her family. 

- In her older years, she shuttled from one child's home to another and ended up living in public housing. 

- At some  point, she lost an eye, probably to disease, but we do not know the exact diagnosis.

- And in what was probably the final straw...her beloved son, Russ (John Russell Tapley), suddenly passed away from a heart attack in 1967.  He had turned 50 just five days before he died.  Uncle Russ was the glue that held this family together.  He was Grandma's protector and provider.  I cannot even imagine the huge blow it was to her to lose him. 

There is a saying that God doesn't give you more than you can handle.  It seems that there are some people, like my Grandmother, that He believed could handle a lot.  Throughout her life, Nealie had a strong faith.  She had to have leaned on her faith to have survived all she did.  I have talked to many people, both family and non-family, and no one has ever had a bad word to say about her.  (At Christmas time, Mom and I visited a cousin who has dementia and had no idea who we were.  But as soon as we mentioned Nealie, her face lit up and she joyfully said, "Aunt Nealie!  Yes!")  Grandma Nealie was dignified; a true Southern lady.  She was kind, fun, a wonderful mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, and church member.  She was tough. She had a backbone.  She took no gruff.  But she loved her family.  She was a strong woman. 

Tombstone Tuesday: Hattie Drake Wise

Hattie Lay Drake Wise

b Sept 10 1886 (or 1884)

d July 25 1912

Wife of 

George Wesley Wise

Mother of 

Minnie Sadie Wise

Daughter of

Rev. William John & Emma Vermell Harrell Drake

laid to rest at

Poplar Springs Methodist Church Cemetery

Adrian, Georgia

cause of death:

Typhoid Fever

Hattie was my grand aunt, the sister of my grandmother, Nealie Drake Tapley.

Tombstone Tuesday: Willie Lee Wise McLendon

Willie Lee Wise McLendon

born October 16, 1915
died December 12, 1997

laid to rest at
Westview Cemetery,
Atlanta, Georgia

wife of William Marion McLendon, Sr.

daughter of George Wesley Wise and Samantha Augusta Drake Wise

Willie Lee was my 1st cousin, 1x removed.