Tuesday, July 29, 2014

52 Weeks of Sharing Our Memories - Tattle Tales

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Writing our Memories by Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy who has challenged us to write our memories for our future generations.

I don't remember if I was a tattle tale or not when I was a kid. I'm sure I was with two brothers and two sisters to tell on and with me being the oldest. I know I didn't like getting the blame for something one of my siblings did, so I'm sure I was quick to say "He did it!" or "She did it!" I remember one time, when I was a teenager, one of my sisters did something they shouldn't have (I don't remember what). When my mom asked who did it, I told her who it was. She said something like, "You're the oldest! You should have stopped her!" I didn't like hearing that too much. I didn't want the responsibility of having to keep my siblings out of trouble, too. It was enough of an effort keeping myself out of trouble.

Here I am looking all sweet and innocent! This might have been taken around 1960.

Catherine

Monday, July 28, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - #30 Nancy Brinson

Nancy Brinson is my paternal 3rd great grandmother. She was born on April 10, 1783, in Onslow County, North Carolina. I have her parents as Isaac Brinson and Elizabeth Ashe (widow of McCullers). The only sibling I have listed for her is her brother Isaac (b. 1785). In Volume 5 of Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Folks Huxford notes on page 567 that Nancy's mother was Ann Murphree. This might be an error as Huxford has on page 47 of the same volume that Mills M. Brinson, born in 1812, is the son of Isaac Brinson Jr. and Ann Murphree (or Murphee) and grandson of Isaac Brinson Sr. and Elizabeth Ashe McCullers. The 1812 birth year for Mills would make him more likely to be Nancy's nephew.

Nancy married John Parramore in 1799 in Screven County, Georgia. I have that she gave birth to 16 children: Redden Wallace (b. 1799 or 1800), Jane Elizabeth (b. 1801), Nancy (b. 1802), Grace (b. 1804), Edward (b. 1805), Adam Brinson (b. 1808), Sarah J. (b. 1810), Susannah (b. 1812), Elizabeth Ann (b. 1814), Lodoiska (b. 1817), Noah (b. 1819, my 2nd great grandfather), John (b. 1821), James (b. 1823), Robert Rutherford (b. 1825), John Clark (b. 1826), and Mary Frances (b. 1828). In Folks Huxford's Volume 5, he lists 11 children. He doesn't have Nancy, Grace, Edward, and James listed as their children.

Screven County, Georgia, about 1800 (maop from randymajors.com)

Huxford notes in Volume 4 of Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia that the Parramores were living in Laurens County at least in 1810. John was issued a deed that year for land on Hunger and Hardship Creeks. They moved to Telfair County, Georgia, sometime after 1809 and lived there for several years. John is listed as a trustee of the Telfair County Academy in an 1823 legislative resolution. In the early 1820s, they moved to the part of Irwin County that later became Thomas County.

Thomas County, Georgia, about 1825 (map from randymajors.com)

Nancy died on January 16, 1844, and John died on May 6, 1846. Both are buried in the Parramore cemetery in Thomas County.

Catherine

This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by genealogist Amy Crow at No Story Too Small.



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Folks Huxford. Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Volumes 3, 4, and 5.

Monday, July 21, 2014

52 Weeks of Sharing Our Memories - Chores

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Writing our Memories by Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy who has challenged us to write our memories for our future generations.

I didn't have any assigned chores growing up. I don't remember what the expectations were. We had a maid. When I was a kid, I thought everyone had a maid, because my friend across the street and the one around the corner had one, too. And so did other family member households. Then I made new friends around the time I started first grade in public school whose families didn't have maids. 

One of my friends and her siblings had to clean their house Saturday mornings. When I'd spend the night with her on Friday nights, I'd stand around Saturday morning feeling useless while they cleaned. I didn't know what to do with myself. I don't remember asking them if I could help. I'm not sure they would have let me.

Here I am not doing any chores. I'm holding my little brother John's hand.
This was probably taken around 1960.

I remember our maid telling me once that I had the cleanest room in the house. I guess I was pretty orderly. Until I was a teenager. Then my room was a disaster. I never put anything away, which is totally unlike the way I am now. I can't stand much clutter.

When I got married, I barely knew how to cook, but I knew how to sweep and make the bed. I could make cakes, pies, and brownies. I could change a baby's diaper because I'd practiced on my sister Helen (I was just over 9 1/2 when she was born).  I guess I learned how to do chores by watching our maid and the neighborhood maids and from TV shows and commercials, and I probably learned how to wash clothes by reading the instructions that came with the washer and dryer. I've been doing chores ever since.

Catherine

Sunday, July 20, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - #29 Christina S. Schenkel

I decided to venture across the ocean again and write about one of my German ancestors.

Christina Sophia Schenkel was my maternal 4th great grandmother. I have her birth year as 1748 and her death year as 1816. I didn't record where I got these years, but I probably got them from a family tree on ancestry.com years ago when I first started compiling the tree. I don't have any parents or siblings listed for her. She married Johann Nicholas Roedelsperger/Rodelsperger, and they are the parents of Johann Adam Roedelsperger (John Adam Redles), my German immigrant 3rd great grandfather and husband of Sarah Rulon.

I found a Christina Sophia Schenkel in an index on ancestry.com called Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898. It lists her birth date as February 8, 1747 in Groß Umstadt, Hessen, Germany, and her death year as 1816 in Germany. She was baptized the day after her birth on February 9, 1747. It lists her parents as Johann Conrad and Sophia Elisabetha Schenkel. This could be my Christina, but I'll need to do more research to confirm. Another record in that same index on ancestry.com gives the place of baptism as Evangelisch, Gross Umstadt, Starkenburg, Hesse-Darmstadt. I found records of two more children of Johann and Sophia: Anna Maria born in 1744 and Maria Philippina born in 1749. These could be Christina's sisters.

One of my German Rodelsperger cousins, who has done extensive research, put together a pedigree chart several years ago for the Rodelsperger/Redles branches. He has that Christina Schenkel and Johann Nicholas Rodelsperger were married October 1, 1767, in Heubach, Germany (a district in Groß Umstadt, Hessen, Germany). He gives Christina's death date as January 14, 1816, in Heubach and that she was buried on January 17, 1816. Besides Johann Adam (my 3rd great grandfather), he lists their other children as Johannes (b. 1767), Johann Jakob (b. 1769), Catherina Elisabetha (b. 1771), Johann Nicholaus (b. 1774), Johann Leonhardt (b. 1777), and Margaretha Elisabetha (b. 1778). He notes that Christina's father was Johann Eduard Schenkel.

Click on the map below for a larger view.

Heubach, a district of the south Hessian town of Gross-Umstadt in Darmstadt-Dieburg, Germany (Google maps)

Several years ago, my mom, her sister, and my youngest sister went to Heubach, Germany, for a reunion of Rodelsperger/Redles descendants. I wasn't able to go, but I hope someday to have the opportunity!

Catherine

This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by genealogist Amy Crow at No Story Too Small.



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Monday, July 14, 2014

52 Weeks of Sharing Our Memories - Family Vacations

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Writing our Memories by Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy who has challenged us to write our memories for our future generations.

I remember spending some summer vacations at the beach. I loved the beach! We usually went to Fernandina or Daytona beach in Florida. The summer after second grade, I contracted pneumonia just before our beach trip. The doctor told my parents that I couldn't get into the water. That was shear agony for me. My parents finally let me at least walk in the water and wade in up to my thighs. Of course, I tested the boundaries and went further in and "accidentally" got splashed by a few waves. I remember going to the emergency room while we were there, but I don't remember why. Maybe my mom had gotten worried about my condition. I remember being afraid that the doctor was going to put me in the hospital and spoil my vacation.

Here I am at the motel swimming pool on one of our beach trips in 1959

The summer that I was nearly 12, we drove to Washington, D.C. I enjoyed most of that trip except for the hours spent in the car with my two brothers and two sisters. We ranged in age from three to 12. My dad suggested that we keep a diary about our adventure. I have no idea what happened to mine. It's been long gone. But my dad kept his and included it in his memoirs. We visited with friends and relatives along the way. We went to Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia, and George Washington's Mt. Vernon. We saw the usual sights in Washington, D.C. like the Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery where we visited my maternal grandfather William Liming Redles' grave, the tomb of the unknown soldier, and President John F. Kennedy's grave.

My dad wrote in his Washington, D.C. travel diary on June 16, 1966, that he asked me if I wanted to go to the Capitol that day or the Smithsonian. I chose the Smithsonian, but when we got into the cab, he told the driver to take us to the Capitol. He said he doesn't know why he did that and that we were nearly at the Capitol when he realized his mistake. While at the Capitol, we met with U.S. Representative J. Russell Tuten from Georgia who gave us some salted peanuts to snack on. I thought that was pretty cool. We went to the United States Botanic Gardens next. I wonder why I'm pouting in those photos! I probably didn't want to go and thought it was boring.

Wow. Look at that pouty face!
Me with my mom at the U.S. Botanic Gardens in Washington, D.C. in 1966
Even today, as much as I love plants and flowers, I really have no desire to go to a botanic garden, but give me the beach any day!

Catherine

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - #28 Catharine Barry MacIntyre

Born January 11, 1809, in Twiggs County, Georgia, Catharine Barry MacIntyre was my maternal 3rd great grandmother. She was one of the six children of Archibald MacIntyre and Hannah Lawson which included Daniel, Hannah, Jane, John L., and Archibald T. (1822-1900). (I only have birth and death dates for Catharine and Archibald.) In Confederate Memoirs, Catharine's middle name is written as Moore.[1]

Twiggs County, Georgia, as of 1807 (map from randymajors.com)

Catharine married Thomas Clarke Wyche on March 5, 1826.[2] They may have been married in Thomas County, Georgia. I haven't found a marriage record for them, but their first child Mary Barry Wyche (my 2nd great grandmother) was born the following year, on March 27, 1827, in Thomas County. Besides Mary, their children were Martha Susan (1829-1864), Elizabeth Hannah (1832-1858), George Archibald (1833-1934), Catherine Caroline (1836-1929), Thomas Lawson (1838-1844), and Alice Maud (1839-1890).

Thomas County, Georgia, as of 1825 (map from randymajors.com)
Catharine and Thomas had a plantation in Thomas County called Mill Pond Plantation. The 1860 slave schedule has 44 people listed as being held as their slaves. The oldest slave was 62; the youngest slave was two months old.[3] On their plantation, they grew "every kind of plant and tree which would grow in that climate and soil." They grew flax and mulberry trees and raised silkworms. Their slaves wove linen and spun silk.[4]

Catharine died on December 27, 1864, and Thomas died six years later on July 5, 1970. Both are buried in the family cemetery on Mill Pond Plantation.

Catherine

This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by genealogist Amy Crow at No Story Too Small.



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[1] Constance Pendleton, ed., Confederate Memoirs: Early Life and Family History, William Frederic Pendleton and Mary Lawson Young Pendleton. (Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, 1958), 155.

[2] Ancestry.com. Georgia Bible Records. Transcription of the Thomas C. Wyche family bible, page 282. Marriage date for Thomas Clarke Wyche and Catharine Barry MacIntyre.

[3] Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedule for T. C. Wyche.

[4] See Footnote 1 above.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

52 Weeks of Sharing Our Memories - First Loss

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Writing our Memories by Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy who has challenged us to write our memories for our future generations.

The first loss that I experienced when I was young was the death of my maternal grandmother Leona Roberts (married name Redles). I was only a few months old, so I had no idea what was going on. I was born in October 1954, and she died the following year on April 19, 1955.

My maternal grandmother Leona Roberts (married name Redles) and me. My dad wrote, 
"Friday before Easter. Last picture with Grandmother"

The loss that I do remember was my Uncle Big Bubba, William Leland Roberts. He was my grandmother Leona's oldest brother and one of my favorite people. I was nine years old when he died on March 15, 1964, in Valdosta, Georgia. He lived with his sister Kathleen Roberts and her husband Abial Winn, but ate his meals with his sisters Margaret, Dinah (Mary Remer), and Leona and their families next door in the dining room at the Roberts House, what we refer to as the Big House. His invalid sister Midge (Edwina) took her meals at the table and chair in the living room where she always sat. The chair had been raised to accommodate her infliction.

Uncle Big Bubba (William Leland Roberts) is on the right, Nick is in the center, and Tom Preuet on the left. Valdosta Builders Supply was a Roberts family business and was in the field behind the Big House.

I'm not sure I knew what the implications of death were back then. I knew that I would never see Uncle Big Bubba again. I don't remember what I felt when I was told he had died, but I'm sure I felt his loss. Someone I had known my whole life was suddenly no longer there. As far as I recall, he was the first person close to me to die. I didn't go to his funeral. My parents probably thought it best to keep us young children at home.

Uncle Big Bubba was always kind to us children, and as I wrote in my previous blog post linked above, he would sometimes come outside to sit with us in the swing on the front porch. I enjoyed that.

Catherine

Monday, July 7, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - #27 Elizabeth Sorrell

Elizabeth Sorrell is my paternal 5th great grandmother. I have that she was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1728. I had her parents as Thomas Sorrell and Elizabeth O'Canny, but after doing some looking around recently on ancestry.com, I removed them as her parents until I can figure out if this is correct or not. I probably got this information, as well as her birth year, from other family trees back when I first started my tree and before I knew better than to just add information from other trees without checking it out as best as I could.

In my recent search, I came across an abstract for a will dated January 12, 1725, for a Thomas Sorrell. It lists father John, brother John, wife Elizabeth, son James, daughters Anna and Winifred, and father-in-law Daniel O'Canny. It also lists nephew Thomas Sorrell and nieces Elizabeth and Frances as sisters of nephew Thomas.[1] I wonder if this nephew Thomas Sorrell is my Elizabeth's father, since I have her birth year as 1728 and this will is dated 1725. However, I don't know if I have the correct birth year for her. I've seen several different birth years given for Elizabeth.

Westmoreland County, Virginia, as of January 1, 1728 (map from www.randymajors.com)

Elizabeth married Chandler Aubrey/Awbrey sometime before May 27, 1740.[2] The only child I have for them is Martha, my 4th great grandmother (she married Philip Pendleton). A genealogy website notes that Chandler Aubrey sued Elizabeth's father's estate, has her father's name as Thomas Sorrell, and that this information came from Virginia Order Book 1739-1743, page 52.

I have Elizabeth's death as 1748 in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Catherine

This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by genealogist Amy Crow at No Story Too Small.



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[1] Ancestry.com. Westmoreland County, Virginia Wills, 1654-1800. Will abstract for Thomas Sorrell, will dated January 12, 1725, proved February 22, 1726.

[2] Ancestry.com. Virginia, Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia. Marriage record for Elizabeth Sorrell and Chandler Aubrey

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Martha Gilbert

Martha (Patsy) Gilbert was my paternal 3rd great grandmother. She was born on May 31, 1789, in Powelton, Hancock County, Georgia to Benjamin Gilbert and Hannah Butler. She had four siblings: Edmund (b. 1783), Mary Polly (b. 1784), John (b. 1786), and Francis (b. about 1791), and five half siblings: Aly (b. 1791), Sophia (b. 1793), Washington (b. 1795), Benjamin (b. 1797), and Robert (b. 1800). Patsy's mother died sometime before September 1791 which is when Patsy's father remarried. She would have been only about two years old or younger when her mother died. (Maps below are from http://www.randymajors.com/p/maps.html with labels added.)

Hancock County, Georgia, as of 1793 

Patsy married Coleman Pendleton on June 6, 1808, in Putnam County, Georgia, when she was 19.[1] Coleman had traveled to Georgia from Virginia as a missionary for the Christian Church, and he served as a chaplain during the War of 1812.[2]

Marriage record for Patsy Gilbert and Coleman Pendleton

Putnam County, Georgia, as of 1809 
Patsy gave birth to four children: Louisa Emily (b. 1809), William Robert (b. 1811), Philip Coleman (b. 1812, my 2nd great grandfather), and Edmund Monroe (b. 1815).

Patsy and Coleman stayed in Putnam County for about 17 years and then moved to a farm in Butts County, Georgia, "near the famous Indian Springs, about thirty miles from Macon." Native Americans were still living in this area at the time.[3]

By the 1840, U.S. census, Patsy and Coleman were living in Harris County, Georgia.[4] Their son William Robert died in 1841 in Baker County, Georgia, leaving behind his wife Marion C. Jordan and young children. Their other two sons remained in Georgia the rest of their lives. Philip Coleman married Catharine Tebeau, and Edmund Monroe married Sarah Jane Thomas.

Harris and Butts counties in Georgia as of 1832
On their 30-acre farm in Harris County, Patsy and Coleman had horses, cows, sheep, and pigs, and they grew wheat, corn, oats, peas and beans, and sweet potatoes.[5]

At the time of the 1860 U.S. census, Patsy and Coleman were living in Chambers County, Alabama, with their daughter Louisa Emily and her husband John J. Oliver who was a farmer.[6]

Chambers and Tallapoosa counties in Alabama as of 1860

Sometime prior to the 1870 U.S. census, the Pendletons and Olivers moved to Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Patsy's husband Coleman died on May 31, 1862, in Tallapoosa. The 1870 U.S. census for Tallapoosa shows Patsy is living in her own household near the farms of her daughter Louisa Emily and son-in-law John Oliver and her grandson Philip Oliver.[7] She lived another 12 years after Coleman and died on August 6, 1874 in Tallapoosa County.

Catherine

This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by genealogist Amy Crow at No Story Too Small.



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[1] Ancestry.com. Georgia, Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978. Marriage record for Patsy Gilbert and Coleman Pendleton.

[2] Constance Pendleton, ed., Confederate Memoirs: Early Life and Family History, William Frederic Pendleton and Mary Lawson Young Pendleton. (Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, 1958), 11.

[3] See Footnote 2.

[4]  "1840 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 June 2014), entry for Coleman Pendleton, Harris County, Georgia.

[5] "1850 United States Federal Nonpopulation Schedule 1850-1880," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 June 2014), entry for Coleman Pendleton, Harris County, Georgia.

[6] "1860 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 June 2014), entry for Coleman Pendleton and John J. Oliver, Chambers County, Alabama.

[7] "1870 United States Federal Census," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 June 2014), entry for Martha Pendleton, John J. Oliver, and Philip Oliver, Tallapoosa County, Alabama.