Wordless Wednesday: LEES OF VIRGINIA Family Crest

Geneablogger's theme "Wordless Wednesday" post:   Family Crest from the "Lees of Virginia",  published in 1967 by the Society of Lees of Virginia.

Tombstone Tuesday: Benjamin S. Fore 1823 - 1893

One of my 2x-great-grandfathers is Benjamin S. Fore,  born in 1823 in Kentucky and died 16 May 1893 in Phelps County, Missouri.  His wife was Sabra "Sabie" Stogsdill, (born 1828 and died 1912). They were married 1 Aug 1842 in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky. Their daughter, Catherine Ellen Fore, was my paternal great-grandmother who married Valentine Allen. Catherine and Valentine's daughter Susannah Allen was my paternal grandmother who married John P. Harrison.

Benjamin S. Fore is buried in Jackson Cemetery in Phelps County, Missouri near other kin.  Benjamin came to Missouri from Kentucky in a covered wagon circa 1852, with his wife and their firstborn children.   Four additional children were born in Missouri.   Their first home in Missouri was a 2-room log cabin that later became known as the Ben Fore School.

There is a memorial page for Benjamin S. Fore on the Find A Grave website at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30391985 .    The above photo is from Find A Grave, and was submitted by Jan and Harold Willis in 2008.

Military Monday- Memorial Day 2013: WILLIAM THURMOND, REVOLUTIONARY WAR

                                               Copyright 2013
For Military Monday- Memorial Day 2013, I have selected to blog about William Thurmond, 1745- 1800, Revolutionary War Veteran, who was my 4x-great-grandfather on the maternal side of my family tree.  He was married to Maccarina "Mackie" Norvell in 1766 in Goochland County, Virginia. The National Archives file on William Thurmond indicates that he was born in Virginia, and  enlisted as Private in the 3rd Virginia Regiment, Continental Line, American Revolutionary  War. His DAR Ancestor National # is 103874. He was promoted to Sergeant Major. Additional sources of documentation on this William Thurmond is the Douglas Register, page 307, and his Will filed in St. Anne's Parish, Albemarle County, Virginia in 1800. He received a military pension, and his heirs were granted Land Bounty Warrants in 1831 in Amherst County, Virginia on his Revolutionary War service record. 

Following are copies of documentation from his National Archives file:

Following is information from the publication: "The Thurmonds: A Study In The Genealogy and History of Philip Thurmond of Amherst County, Virginia and His Descendants". Repository: Ancestry.com . (Philip Thurmond was a son of William Thurmond). 

Following is a copy of a page purported to be the Will of William Thurmond, filed in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1800. 

Wednesday's Child: Beulah A. Giesler 1884 - 1885

For the Geneabloggers weekly writing prompt topic "Wednesday's Child", I am posting this photo  of the gravestone of Beulah A. Giesler, born 15 Feb 1884 and died 12 Dec 1885. She was the daughter of Hugh E Giesler (1851- 1920) and Sarah Thomas Giesler (1853- 1894).  She is buried near several other members of the extended Giesler family, at Morning View Cemetery in Bluff City, Sullivan County, Tennessee.  Her siblings included Charlie M. Giesler (1874- 1898), Walter C. Gielser (1878- 1904), and Noah Hayes Giesler (1886- 1957).  I don't know the story of baby Beulah's short life, or what caused her untimely passing at only 10 months of age.  Rest in peace, little angel Beulah, you will not be forgotten.

This precious baby Beulah, and these Gieslers, are distant cousins who connect to my family tree through Sarah Eliza Harrison born about 1819, sister of my great-great-grandfather William Harrison born 1807.  Sarah Eliza Harrison married Noah Giesler who was born in 1818 in Piney Flats, Sullivan County, Tennessee. Both the Harrison family and a branch of the Giesler family moved to Missouri circa 1825-1830. Noah is a name that repeats often in this Giesler line through several generations. The marriage of Sarah Eliza Harrison and Noah Giesler is recorded in Crawford County, Missouri in 1839.  It appears that Noah and Sarah Eliza met after their families moved to Missouri, however there is a possibility that my Harrisons and these Gieslers were neighbors in Tennessee prior to Missouri.  The Harrison surname is prominent in Sullivan County, Tennessee in the early and mid 1800's. Two of the brothers of my ancestor William Harrison (Lewis and Tyree) stated on census records that they were born in Tennessee.  My ancestor is recorded as being born in North Carolina.

Travel Tuesday: The FRISCO Railway and my Missouri ancestors

My Harrison ancestors in Missouri had a long association with the FRISCO Railway in the late 1800's through the mid 1900's.   My paternal grandfather, John P. Harrison, had a lengthy career with the FRISCO, many of which were spent in the capacity of Engineer driving steam locomotives prior to his retirement in 1935 at age 70. He drove long-distance passenger trains on cross county routes to and from Missouri. He was very proud of his job, and wrote about it in his journal. What fun he must have had,  watching the scenery go by from his engineer's station in the cab of the locomotives.  I have written about my grandfather previously in this Blog- see http://genieinarizona.blogspot.com/2009/06/remembrance-legacy-of-john-p-harrison.html


John had many other relatives who were employed in some capacity by the railroads in Missouri.  The railroad was in their blood.  John's own father, John Milton Harrison, had harvested trees and sold lumber from his own farm to make railroad ties for the FRISCO. John P.'s eldest son, David Essex Harrison, married the daughter of a FRISCO executive.  At least 2 of his daughters married men who worked for the railroad in St. Louis at the time of their marriages.   Many of John's nephews also had railroad jobs in various parts of Missouri.  John's youngest son, Marvin Milton Harrison (my father) worked for the railroad too for a few years, until the advent of diesel engines made the job he had been trained for (fireman on steam engines) obsolete and forced a career change and a relocation to California in the mid 1950's.  The FRISCO is no longer in existence today, having merged with another rail line after my grandfather''s retirement.

To this day, railroads are in my blood too.   From the time I was a little girl, train trips were a welcome adventure.  I have re-discovered train travel in my own "early golden" years.  One of my favorite adventures today is to hop a ride on a cross-country Superliner train, which today consists of Amtrak trains that are now government-regulated.   One of my favorite trains which services the area I live, is the Sunset Limited which travels east and west between Los Angeles and Chicago.  Another favorite is the Coast Starlight, which travels north and south along the coast between San Diego, California and Portland, Oregon.   I love nothing better than riding a long distance train, sitting in the sightseeing lounge watching the scenery go by.

Tombstone Tuesday: Lucy "Fannie" Clark Allen 1860-1939

My maternal great-grandmother was Lucy Frances "Fannie" Clark Allen, who was born 24 June 1860 in Fulton County, Kentucky and died 24 Feb 1939. She is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Fulton County, KY; and has a memorial page that I posted for her on the Find A Grave website at memorial # 58405248. Rest in Peace, Fannie.

Fannie passed away several years before I was born. Her Kentucky Death Certificate is # 03730. She was married in 1877 to Thomas Calvin Allen, a Confederate Veteran of the Civil War. Their marriage took place in Troy, Obion County, Tennessee (which was the groom's home state) according to Lucy's deposition in her Widow's Pension application in 1912; but it was recorded in Fulton County, Kentucky (which was the bride's home state). It was the groom's 2nd marriage, but the bride's 1st marriage. Fannie was the daughter of William Calvin Clark (also a Confederate Civil War Veteran) and Harriet Angeline Gray.

Military Monday: Corporal George Helm Sr and Captain Leonard Helm, REVOLUTIONARY WAR, Father and Son.

My 4th great-grandfather George Helm Sr, and his father Leonard Helm (my 5th great-grandfather) both served as officers in the Revolutionary War from Virginia. They both relocated to Kentucky after the war.  They are ancestors on the paternal side of my family tree.

George Helm Sr. was born 22 August 1747 in Virginia, the son of Leonard Helm and Elizabeth "Betty" Calmes .  He married 1st wife Mary Frances Calmes about 1767 in Virginia,  who appears to have been a relative of his mother's (possibly his cousin). After Mary Frances died in 1783, he married 2nd wife Frances "Frankie" Coppedge (who was the sister of his daughter's husband Travis Coppedge). George was a Corporal under Captain Dunmore in the Revolutionary War. He enlisted under Captain Abe Shepherd in Colonel Rawlings Rifle Regiment from Virginia.  While living in Kentucky after the war, he served in Whitaker's Battalion, Mounted Volunteers. There is also a George Helm listed as having served in the War of 1812.  His Revolutionary War pension was approved in 1826, while he was living in Tennessee. He then returned to Lincoln County, Kentucky, where he died about 1831.  The Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots indicates he is buried at McCormack Cemetery in Lincoln Co, KY. He has a memorial page posted on the Find A grave website under memorial # 11519529.

Leonard Helm Sr. was born about 1720 in Stafford, Virginia and died in June 1782 "of consumption or bad medicine" at Beargrass Creek near Louisville, Kentucky.  Leonard married Elizabeth "Betty" Calmes in 1746 in Frederick, Virginia. He served as a Captain in the Virginia State Line in the Revolutionary War under General George Rogers Clarke. A land bounty claim filed by his heirs 52 years after his death, was approved and concluded that he was "the only Leonard Helm on record" as having served in the Revolutionary War (file #S38021).  In 1779 he had received a commission as an Indian Agent from the State of Virginia. An article on his life and exploits was published by Fauquier Historical Society of Virginia, and is available online at http://www.fauquierhistory.com/UserFiles/File/Vol27No2.pdf.   In it, Leonard Helm was described as "somewhat rugged, outspoken, abounding in wit and fun, fearless, intelligent, level-headed and trustworthy". Conversely, he was also described as "an intemperant man" who ran up large tavern bills and liked his whiskey.  Leonard died poor, and had not received payment, land or pension for his military services at the time of his death in 1782.  He died while on a trail in Kentucky, apparently acting in his capacity as Indian Agent. At the time, it had been thought that he had just vanished and was probably killed by Indians.   His widow applied for but was denied a Widow's Pension (file number R14982) because Leonard had not served until the end of the Revolutionary War (as rules for a pension required) but had accepted a commission as Indian Agent instead prior to the close of the war.  A sworn deposition of Edward Parker dated 5 Feb 1833 confirmed that Captain Leonard Helm had actually died in 1782 "of consumption or some other bilgious disease. John Jones, a nephew of Leonard's daughter Sara, confirmed this story and indicated that "bad medicine" might have contributed to Leonard's death. His burial place is unknown.  Following are pages from the Veteran's Land Bounty and Widow's Pension Application files verifying the service of Captain Leonard Helm.

Obituary Sunday: Frances "Fanny" Hudgens 1811- 1879

Following is the obituary and headstone photo of my paternal 2nd-great-grandmother, Frances Hudgens (Wilson Allen Malone), who was born 6 Dec 1811 in Washington County, Kentucky and died 11 May 1879 in Phelps County, Missouri.  She is buried at Allen Cemetery in Phelps County, Missouri.  Her nicknames were "Fanny" and "Aunt Frankey". She had at least 3 husbands as she kept outliving the men she married.

Transcript of the Obituary of Mrs. Frances Malone-Source: Courtesy of Phelps County Genealogical Society, Rolla, Missouri- July 1995 Quarterly "The Rolla Herald, 15 May 1879""Frances Hudges Wilson Allen Malone, died at her residence on Little Piney, May 11th 1879. Frances, widow of the late George Malone, aged about 68 years. Mrs. Malone was married three times. The late Napoleon Wilson was her oldest son by her first marriage. Her second husband was father of V. Allen Esq., who was her only child by her second marriage. Mrs. Malone was mother on nine children, the most of whom survive her. She was the daughter of William and Susannah Hudgens, the eldest of twelve children, four of whome survived her, namely: Mrs. Nancy Bond, Mrs. Matilda Woolsey, Mrs. Martha Huskey, and Mrs. Mary A. Paulsell. It is a meloncholy pleasure to surviving friends in some way to give expression to their deep sorrow, and to pay some tribute of respect when one, who by familiar intercourse and intimate acquaintance for years, they had learned to love for her many virtues, kindly deeds and uncomplaining faithful discharge of life's duties, has passed away from earth away. Such a one in the feelings and estimation of the writer and many friends in Phelps County, was Aunt Frankie Malone. A number of years ago she embraced the Christian religion and at her death was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church. Her end was peace, and it is confidently beleived her future will be glorious. She was buried on Monday the 12th inst., near the residence of her son Esq. Allen. The regious services were conducted by the writer, J. J. Watts. " She is buried at Allen Cemetery, Phelps County, Missouri.  Source:genie-in-az (#46847723).

Mrs. Frances Malone, born in Washington Co, Ky, Dec 6th 1811, died on Little Piney, Phelps Co., May 11, 1879 aged 67 years 6 ms. and 5 ds."- Rev JJ Watts Journals. Frances Hudgens was the daughter of William Hudgens and Susannah Tucker. She was born in Kentucky but resided most of her adult life in Phelps County, Missouri. Frances was married 3 times: 1st husband Valentine Wilson, 2nd husband Samuel T Allen, 3rd husband George W Malone. Frances Hudgens Wilson Allen Malone had several children born of her three marriages. Among her children were "Bushwacker" Bill Wilson, infamous Missouri desperado during the Civil War years. Clint Eastwood portrayed the title character in a film entitled "Outlaw Josey Wales" based loosely on the life and times of Bill Wilson. Another of Frances' son's was Valentine Allen, half- brother to Bill Wilson. Frances' father, William Hudgens, was born in McMinn, Tennessee. Her mother, Susannah Tucker, was born in Ambrose, Virginia in 1792; the daughter of William Wofford Tucker and Nancy Lee. The Tucker ancestors arrived in Virginia, America in the late 1600's from Kent, England. The Lee family arrived in Virginia in the early 1600's from Worcestshire, England. Frances was also a descendant of the Penn family of Virginia; Frances' maternal great-grandmother was Frances Penn married to Ambrose Lee. Frances' ancestor George Penn was born in Sussex, England in 1571 and came to the Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, America in the early 1600's. The Penn ancestry was originally in Gloucester, England in the 1500's.

William Harrison (1807-1896) and his bride Nancy Shepherd Harrison (1815-1900)

Above are photos of my great-great-grandparents, William M Harrison and Nancy Shepherd Harrison, taken in their late middle-aged years or early "senior" years. There are no known portraits in existence of them in their younger years. They were married on 24 November 1834.  Their marriage is recorded in Greene County, Missouri.....however it is not known if they ever lived there.   They settled in Maries County, Missouri. Not a lot is known about their roots prior to the time period when they settled in Missouri as newlyweds.   Nancy Shepherd's family was from Kentucky.   Her parents were John William Shepherd and Mary Polly Clayton Shepherd, of  Shelby and Mason County, Kentucky.

William's family is more of a mystery.    Generations of descendants have remained mystified as to the origins of this line of the Harrison clan, despite recent DNA testing of descendants (circa 2012 and 2013). An old  family bible was purported to be in existence which stated that William was born in a place called "Sura", North Carolina, about 1807, near the headwaters of the Dan River. William and Nancy's photos and other heirlooms were recently discovered to be in the possession of a female descendant of this line.   It is this distant cousin who provided the above photos of these ancestors, as well as a copy of a page taken from what we believe may have been the fabled family bible (see below). The page came out of a worn book that had been referred to as "Nancy's bible", and had been handed down through the generations to this descendant.

Unfortunately, the top left corner of the page is torn off, which would have indicated the county of William's birth.    Some descendant's have interpreted the often-quoted "Sura" as referring to Surry County.   However, my research has led me to believe that it referred to a settlement known as Suaratown.   This was a historic settlement near the ancient Saura Mountains in North Carolina, near the Dan River. In the 1700's and early 1800's, there was an Upper Sauratown and a Lower Sauratown, located approximately 2 miles south of what became known as Leakesville, and is the present-day town of Eden, in Rockingham County, North Carolina (at one period it was part of Stokes County). It also not far from the town of Walnut Cove.  The following information can be found on the Eden Chamber of Commerce website: 

Source:   Eden Chamber of Commerce
http://www.edenchamber.com/history.html
"Eden was so named by William Byrd in 1728 when he led a survey party seeking to establish the boundary line between North Carolina and Virginia.  Byrd called the area "Land of Eden" because of its beauty.  He had his own strong-minded ideas for its use: tillage; grazing; the growing of hemp, flax, cotton, grapes, peaches, apples and rice; and the cultivation of raw silk through the production of white mulberry trees for the feeding of silk worms. Eden, originally three townships known as Leaksville, Spray and Draper, was one of the first cities to be established in the Piedmont area of North Carolina as an economic center.  Here the Piedmont's textile boom began with the establishment in 1837 of the Leaksville Cotton Mill - Morehead's "Factory," it was called - by John Motley Morehead who was to be a two-term governor of the state from 1841 to 1845."

The above historical marker can be found on US 311 at Dan River bridge northeast of Walnut Cove, North Carolina.   It marks the site of part of the old historical settlement of Sauratown, which was originally inhabited by the Saura Indians, and later by American pioneer settlers.   With changing territorial boundaries over the decades, this region was at varying times considered part of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It may have even at one point been part of what was referred to as the early Kentucky territory. Settlers in the remote mountain regions often were isolated from communication with the rest of the country and lived in assumption that they lived in one territory or state, even after it had officially become part of another territory or state.    This could account for the varying responses to "birth place" give by William Harrison and his brothers Lewis and Tyree Harrison to census takers over the years.    While William appears to have consistently referred to his birthplace as being in North Carolina, his brothers sometimes indicated they were born in either Tennessee, Virginia, or Kentucky.    It is possible the family moved around a lot, but is more plausible that they were simply confused as the official name of the territory the family lived in at the time of their birth's.  DNA testing has connected our line of Harrison to Lineage # 1 on the Harrison DNA Patriarch's Study website, with roots in North Carolina and Virginia.  We are line H206 in that study.  http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/harrison/pats .  As yet, we have still been unable to identify the parents of William, Lewis, and Tyree Harrison and their sisters.  They remain known only as the mysterious "Widow Harrison" and possibly a William Harrison Sr.  Research continues on this Brick Wall in our tree. 

William and Nancy Shepherd Harrison are buried at Bowles Chapel Cemetery in Maries County, Missouri.  They share a headstone, with William's inscription on one side and Nancy's on the other. 

Memorial pages can be found for them on the Find A Grave website, with links to other family members. ( William's is Find A Grave Memorial# 53273047.  Nancy's is Find A Grave Memorial# 40376051).

William Harrison's Farm: Finding The Original Homestead Of My Great-Great-Grandfather

The above photos are recent pictures (taken April 2013) of some of the original farm land owned by my great-great-grandfather William Harrison, circa 1853 to 1896 in Maries County, Missouri.  The photos were taken by my distant cousin, T. Cadenbach, who shares some Harrison ancestry with me and still lives in the general vicinity of our Missouri roots.

William Harrison's Land Patent:

 In 1853,  my ancestor William patented 40 acres in Section 20, Township 39-N, Range 7-W, 5th Meridian, Maries County, Missouri.  He later added to this land, and his brothers Lewis and Tyree Harrison owned adjacent farm lands and acreage.  With the help of a plotting tool utilized through Google Earth, and the legal description coordinates from the original land deeds, we were able to pinpoint the exact location of the original farms of these three Harrison brothers, as shown below. 

My cousin has recently met the current owner's of my ancestor's original acreage, who gave their permission for photos and further exploration.   The acreage is kept in immaculate condition by the current owners, and is still undeveloped rural farm-ranch acreage, much as it was back in my ancestor's time. The difference would be that the land is now far less forested.  Though many beautiful trees do remain, in my ancestor's era most forested acreage was cleared for planting of crops,  as well as later to sell the wood for railroad ties to the Frisco Railway. There is a large modern home now inhabited by the current owners.  However, remnants of historic buildings and foundations still remain, to be further explored and documented.  One of the brothers of my ancestor, Lewis Harrison, deeded part of his land that encompassed the Harrison family cemetery for the formation of what is now known as Rock Spring Cemetery. It is there that many of our Harrison ancestors and kin are buried.  We believe it may be the final resting place of our mysterious Brick Wall ancestor, the "Widow" Harrison and possibly her husband (parents of William, Lewis, and Tyree Harrison and their sisters) who may rest there in now unmarked graves.

Below is William's farm is it looks today (2013):

Below is William's farm, the only known photo of the old original old farmhouse, taken circa 1883.

Marker for a Great-Grandmother: Mary Jane Coppedge Harrison 1840 - 1923

We don't know if she ever had a marker for her gravesite, or if she may have originally had some sort of wooden or stone marker that has long since deteriorated into oblivion.  But, at long last, this ancestor in my tree has a legible headstone to mark her final resting place next to her husband, John Milton Harrison, Civil War Veteran.  They were my paternal great-grandparents, long passed before I was born.

Mary Jane Coppedge Harrison (1840 - 1923) and John Milton Harrison (1836 - 1899) are both buried at Dillon Cemetery in Phelps County, Missouri. Mary Jane also has a memorial page on www.findagrave.com ,  Find A Grave Memorial# 53272446 . She was the daughter of George Helm Coppedge and Margaret "Peggy" Kitchen Thornton Coppedge. She was the granddaughter of Travis Coppedge and Elizabeth Helm Coppedge, and Thomas Thornton III and Nancy Kitchen Thornton. Her great-grandparents were Moses Aaron Coppedge and Mary Jane Catlett Coppedge, George Helm and Mary Frances Calmes Helm, Thomas Thornton II and Lucinda Waters Thornton, and (possibly) William Harrison Kitchen and Nancy Anne Harrison Kitchen. Among her great-great-grandparents were Charles Coppedge and Lucy Sarah Lunsford Coppedge, John Catlett and Mary Ann Grayson Coppedge, Captain Leonard Helm (Revolutionary War) and Elizabeth Calmes Helm, Thomas Thornton I and Lettice Peyton Thornton, and Thomas Harrison V and Mary Ann Butler Harrison.  It appears, thus, that Mary Jane was a Harrison descendant herself as well as marrying a Harrison, her distant cousin several generations removed. I doubt that she even realized there was a chance that they were distant cousins.

The cemetery where May Jane and John Milton Harrison are buried is on private property in Phelps County, Missouri. It is a small country cemetery that is well-maintained by the current owner of the property. For generations, John Milton Harrison had an original Civil War Veteran's headstone that was gradually deteriorating from age and exposure to the elements, but there was no visible marker for his wife who was laid to rest beside him.  At the time of Mary Jane's passing, her husband had already been gone for a few years. Mary Jane died as a resident of the Soldiers Home hospital-nursing home in St. James, Missouri.   She had been placed there for long-term care after being found incapacitated by a local court. This appears to have transpired when her senility became too much for her caretaker daughter, Georgia Ann Harrison Finn, to deal with. We may surmise that she may have been afflicted with something akin to Alzheimers disease as we know it today. As a tragic side note, George Ann Harrison Finn died of a heat stroke or heart attack while walking to visit her mother in the Soldier's Home on one hot summer day. Mary Jane passed away shortly thereafter.   We can only guess that financial constraints may have been a reason that no individual permanent marker was placed on Mary Jane's grave. The death certificate confirms that she is buried at Dillon Cemetery.

In 2012, with the assistance of my 4th-cousin on the Harrison side of my tree who lives in Phelps County, Missouri; we were able to get a new headstone placed for John Milton Harrison (see above photo).   His original headstone had deteriorated beyond repair and was no longer legible due to being covered with algae, mold, and fungus.    Recently, in 2013 we were able to set a new marker in place for his wife, Mary Jane, as well.   Their markers now stand side by side, as their souls rest for all eternity.

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas!

On this rainy December day in Arizona, a blog post is long overdue.  Today is "Blog Carol" Day, a genea-blog prompt coordinated by our genealogist friend Footnote Maven. We are to write about a favorite Christmas Carol.

Mine has got to be "I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas", preferrably crooned by none other than the iconic Bing Crosby.   Having grown up in sunny Southern California where there were lots of beaches and much sunshine, but no snow, I cannot remember having ever having experienced a White Christmas as a child.  Our house did not even have a fireplace; we used one of those fake cardboard fireplaces that went up with the tree every year.  I was well into my adult years before ever being in snow at Christmas time on trips, and even those occasions were rare. Once, during a period when I lived in the Seattle, WA area for a few years, we got some lovely, soft fluffy white snow for Christmas...and that is a magical memory. Now I have lived in Arizona for many years, in an area that does not get snow, but as I write this blog entry- snow is falling up in the northern part of the state in Flagstaff.   There will soon be some snow south of us too on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson.  So, though we won't likely have a White Christmas where I live, we can take a day trip to play and experience the winter beauty.

Here are the lyrics to this favorite Christmas Carol:

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know.
Where the tree-tops glisten,
And children listen
To hear sleighbells in the snow."

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write,
"May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white".

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know.
Where the tree-tops glisten,
And children listen
To hear sleighbells in the snow."

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write,
"May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white".

Bachelor Maids Clubs, circa 1915- St Louis, Missouri: "Unwed and Loving It"

Bachelor Girls Club of 1915, St. Louis, Missouri-

Among the family heirloom photos in the collection that had belonged to one of paternal aunts, is a photo depicting two of her sisters as young women with a group of their friends.  The photo is labeled: "Bachelor Girls Club of 1915", believed to have been taken in St. Louis, Missouri. The women in the photo all appear to be in their late teens or early twenties. They are all wearing fancy hats and suits that were fashionable in that time period.   My copy of this photo was made years ago on a xerox machine, long before digital photography came along, so the copy I have is not very good.  The original photo has long since been lost or packed away in storage in the estate belongings of my late aunt Lona, which passed to her son.   Her sisters "the Bachelor Girls" are in the far right of the photo. Here it is:

My aunts; the Bachelor Girls of 1915: top row, right- Gladys Harrison, age 19.  bottom row, right- Edna Harrison, age 20.

Looking at this picture peaked my curiosity about these two aunts of mine.  Ironically, both of my aunts married within a year of the above photo being taken.  But, before they were wives, they were Bachelor Girls. Just what were these "Bachelor Girls Clubs"  (or "Bachelor Maids" as they were often referred to) all about back then, anyway?  Certainly, they weren't "old maids". I knew that both of these aunts had married fairly young and raised children with their husbands.  They were both quite a bit older than their baby brother, my Dad, so I had grown up knowing them from afar simply as my elder "widowed" aunts, each old enough to be my grandmother. Looking at this photo now reminds me that each of these women had once been young, vibrant, fun-loving and free-spirited girls; before the cares of adulthood burdened their worlds.   Each woman ultimately matured to face particularly challenging lives in their later adult years, filled with much personal difficulty, serious health problems, and loss of loved ones.     But, once upon a time, they were "Bachelor Maids".

I decided to learn more about these "Bachelor Maids" clubs of the early 1900's, and take a peek into the lifestyle of my young aunts during that period of their lives.   A quick search online pointed me to this explanation offered by the Library of Congress, at http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/bachelor.html :
"Bachelor maids were a cadre of single women in the late 19th, early 20th century. Not to be confused with “old maids” (or “spinsters”), these women opted to be independent of men, live on their own and manage their own business affairs. Young, unmarried women’s social groups, known as Bachelor Maids’ Clubs, began in cities such as New York and Washington, DC. Soon thereafter, smaller clubs began forming in cities and towns around the country."

"Before there were Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, there were bachelor maids – turn-of-the-century single gals opting to play by their own rules of the time. These women of the late 19th and early 20th centuries had acceptable ways to earn money and no longer regarded marriage as necessary for financial stability or for self-respect.    That's not to say that all women were against the idea of matrimony, but rather they set standards for suitors to meet and waited to marry, if they married at all.   'The Bachelor Girl does generally marry. However, I have noticed that the marriages of girls who have followed some useful and interesting business before they married turn out happiest,' said Ellen Adair in her article in the Jan. 26, 1915, issue of Philadelphia's Evening Public Ledger."- http://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov11/unwed.html

An amusing and somewhat derisive poem was published in the Oct 11, 1896 issue of the San Francisco Call, describing the Bachelor Maid New Woman:  " She could never be persuaded to marry, Never husband shall order her life.  As for children, she never could stand them, With their noise and perpetual strife.  Yes, dear bachelor maiden new woman, The men are a despicable lot; It may be you'd refuse to marry, It may also be true that you'd not". 

Below is a photo of another of these groups, the Bachelor Maids Club of Ames, IA- circa 1895- courtesy of Ames Public Library.org. 

On the other hand, the following article appeared in the January 16, 1898 issue of the San Francisco Call, describing the Bachelor Maids as a group of young ladies on the hunt for suitable husbands:  "If you wish to see a group of pretty, vivacious, intelligent and thoroughly independent nineteenth century maidens, of a true American type, just stop long enough at Cape May, New Jersey to catch a glimpse of the Bachelor Maids' Club, an association of twelve charming, marriageable young women, who have banded together to protect themselves from the unworthy members of the other sex. The perpetuation of celibacy is not contemplated, as every member is in favor of marriage, but it must be a marriage of the ideal standard set by the club.  Accordingly the twelve young men somewhere in this broad world who would willingly marry these twelve winsome misses must throw away their vices and prepare themselves to answer some questions like these:   Do you drink, or smoke, or chew, or wear a silk hat in summer with a blue suit, or lie in bed in the morning while your father shovels coal into the heater, or give expression to wicked words when you strike your thumb with a hammer?  Do you earn enough to support a wife?  Can you see a flower store without being directed to it?  Do you write love letters with a pencil?  How many cousins of the feminine gender do you have? What becomes of your temper when you lose your collar button?  Do you ride a last year's wheel?  Are you fond of ice cream and soda water and poetry?   It frequently happens that the carefully groomed and industrious young men of the wave swept city are asked to attend informal receptions and musicales, and the promptness with which they pen a reply to the daintily perfumed card of invitation is sufficient evidence in itself of the high esteem in which the Bachelor Maids Club is held". 

Apparently some of these clubs were operated as boarding houses or dormitories  for young women who had either taken jobs, or were training at some trade or vocational skill, in larger cities.  I think this scenario would probably have been applicable to both of my aunts, who were living in St Louis in 1915 while they were both members of a  "Bachelor Girls Club".  An article in the Washington, D.C. Evening Times of June 5, 1896 announced that  "A unique club for bachelor women has just been organized in Chicago.  It's headquarters will be in a large flat building on Power Avenue.  Last night, an advance guard of a dozen young women took possession of the new quarters, each proud of the possession of a latch-key.  The plan of management is this:  Each young woman who becomes a club member pays a minimum price f $3.50 per week.  For a single room the price will be from $4 to $4.50 per week.   For each suite of eight rooms there is a large double parlor, fitted up handsomely.   Besides this there is a big, plain room set apart for sewing, darning, handkerchief washing, and the like.   One feature is a large assembly room, which can be used for meetings, lectures. etc. It is also planned to allow young ladies who wish, to furnish their rooms, wholly or in part, according to their individual tastes.  The club is admirably situated as to car lines, being withing a short distance of three downtown lines".   (It is assumed this is referring to cable-car lines). 

Not all of society approved of these "Bachelor Girls", apparently. Some considered them to be rather spoiled and self-indulgent.   An article published Dec 27, 1894 in the Evening Dispatch of Provo, Utah stated: "...the blame must rest with their mothers. It is a careless, selfish, irresponsible epoch in which the daughter studies her own convenience and pleasure solely; and the mother by foolish indulgence, aids and abets her.  Once a girl is free from the trammels of the schoolroom and is fully fledged in society, nothing is denied her.  She may lie in bed, perchance take her breakfast there, while she skims a novel belonging to the 'new' order of fiction.  Her day is compassed with no single duty save to look her best and enjoy her life. "   Well, that really does not sound much different that the life of a typical teenager or young twenty-something when I was growing up, or today either for that matter.   Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, after all, and enjoy life.   Given the chance, who wouldn't want to lounge over breakfast in bed, and only rouse ourselves to receive gentlemen callers laden with gifts of flowers and poetry?  I can imagine that in their later years, when life was no longer filled with laughter and gentleman callers; my aunts would look back upon that time in their lives fondly and wistfully, longing for their carefree days among girl-friends in the Bachelor Girls Club of 1915. 

Black Sheep Sunday: Bushwacker Bill Wilson

William Wilson, otherwise known as "Bushwacker Bill Wilson", was my great-grand-uncle.   During the Civil War era in Missouri, he became somewhat of a legendary folk hero to the locals.    He was half-brother to my maternal great-grandfather, Valentine Allen.  They shared the same mother, my great-great-grandmother Frances Hudgens Allen.  Below is a photo that has been circulated in recent years by descendants and is purported to be a photo of Bill Wilson:

Whether or not this is a true and authentic image of the infamous Bushwacker Bill Wilson has not yet been proven or disproven.   However, my guess is that he was probably an angry-looking young man similar to the one depicted in this photo.   He lost a lot during the war, and was said to be hell-bent on revenge.  I have touched on the life of Bill Wilson in a previous post on my great-grandfather Valentine Allen.  Below is a quote from my own earlier blog post:

"Valentine 'Tine' Allen's half-brother was 'Bushwacker' Bill Wilson, son of Frances Hudgens and her first husband Valentine Wilson.   For those of you who may have seen the old Clint Eastwood film "The Outlaw Josey Wales", you will be familiar with the story of my Great-Grandpa's half-brother Bushwacker Bill, on whom the film's story is loosely based.  The Outlaw Josey Wales character is actually a composite of several known Bushwackers who lived in the area during the Civil War.  While it is true that some Bushwackers during the war were vicious murderers, such as the one known as "Bloody Bill Anderson"; others were regular family men who banded together to try to protect their families and properties during the War. Bushwacker Bill Wilson, my great-grandfather's half-brother, was one of the more sympathetic figures who actually became a folk hero in Missouri.   There was a book written about him by George Clinton Arther, entiitled: "Bushwacker, Missouri's Most Infamous Desperado".   The book is based on first-hand accounts of those who knew Bill Wilson.   The story goes that Bill was simply avenging the harm and atrocities that befell his family and property at the hands of renegade soldiers. Whether the "bad guys" were Union or Confederate soldiers is not entirely clear.   There was some wrong-doing on both sides during the war.   Missouri was technically a neutral state, but sympathies were dividied among families....some were for the Confederate cause, and others supported the Union cause.  It was not unusual for brothers within the same family to join up and fight on opposing sides during the Civil War. This happened within my own family tree.  I have not found a record that Tine Allen served in the military during the Civil War, though several other ancestors and relatives living in the area at the time did serve." 

Here is a quote from Eastwood's character in the movie based loosely on the life of my ancestor.  
 Josey Wales:   "Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean.  I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. Cause if you lose your head and give up then you neither live nor win.  That's just the way it is".  


As far as I know thus far, it has never been proven where or when Bill Wilson died and is buried.  Similar to the character of Josey Wales portrayed in the Clint Eastwood movie, Bill Wilson did in fact take an Indian wife.   He married Mary Ann Noaks, who had native American ancestry.  Some of the stories have Bill Wilson being shot and killed in Texas, and buried there.   Other stories have him returning to his home area in Phelps County, Missouri after the war, and living in hiding in the same remote hill-country caves he used during the Civil War when going about his bushwacking business. Some believe that he faked his own death in Texas and sent a letter to his wife supposedly from a third party, advising of his own alleged demise, to throw his pursuers off the trail. The letter was to be used by Mary Ann to "prove" his death.     There is supposedly a document signed by Mary Ann Noaks Wilson on April 15, 1865; a copy of which has been posted and circulated on Ancestry.com, in which Mary Ann gives her statements indicating that Bill Wilson enlisted in the Rebel Army when the war fist broke out, then returned in about a year and took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States Government; (as locals were required to do or be subject to arrest by the Union Army), then came home again and "Staid for only one hour and she has not seen him since".   Mary Ann was apparently arrested by Union Soldiers as being suspected of hiding and aiding her husband, and the document was her recorded statement alleging that she knew nothing about the whereabouts of Bill Wilson at that time. 


Below are photos of Gourd Creek Cave in Phelps County, Missouri; where Bushwacker Bill Wilson was known to hide out during and after the Civil War.       Here is a photo of the cave as it looks today, taken by cousin and fellow genealogy family-tree researcher Terry Cadenbach on April 24, 2012: 

Below is a photo of some of the extended Allen-Wilson-Noaks clan descendants and kin posing in front of the same Gourd Creek Cave, some time after the Civl War (circa 1870-1880).  The below family photo was published in the book, "Bushwacker: Missouri's Most Infamous Desperado" written by descendant George Clinton Arthur in 1938.  The book and it's contents are now in the public domain, as the author has been dead for more than 50 years. 

Bill wilson's wife  Mary Ann Noaks Wilson remarried and is buried at Brookshire Cemetery in Spring Creek, Phelps County, Missouri. She is listed on the Find A Grave website at www.findagrave.com under Memorial# 40032604.  Below is a photo of Mary Ann in her later years, with her second husband John Jackson, that has been shared by WIlson-Noaks-Jackson descendants:

Below is a photo taken by my family tree cousin, Terry Cadenbach, in 2012 of the  memorial marker placed in recent years by descendants of Mary Ann Noaks and Bushwacker Bill Wilson at the cemetery in Phelps County,Missouri.   Some believe that Bill Wilson rests there too, nearby to Mary Ann and her 2nd husband, in an unmarked grave. There are several very old monuments and stones in this cemetery, with mostly now illegible inscriptions.  One of those stones is surrounded by an old wrought-iron fence.   Some believe that could be the original final resting place of either Mary Ann Noaks Wilson (Jackson) or of Bushwacker Bill Wilson.  In honor of their memory, the below depicted memorial stone has been placed nearby in more recent years by an unknown descendant(s):

I had ancestors who fought for both the north and the south, on both the maternal and paternal sides of my tree. In fact, a few of my ancestors and kin in Missouri spent time in military prisons during the Civil War, simply for being suspected of being Confederate sympathizers.   It truly was a brother-against-brother and kin-against-kin conflict in American history and in my own family tree. 

Surname Saturday: CATLETT

One of the surnames in my tree that I will be focusing on researching further in the coming year is CATLETT.

Mary Jane Catlett (1738-1812) was one of my 4x-great-grandmothers. She married Moses Aaron Coppedge (1735-1801), on 26 July 1764 in Fauquier County, Virginia. Around 1780, they went to live in Kentucky, traveling in a party led by Daniel Boone (according to the book written by Arthur Max Coppage and John E. Manahan:  “Coppage-Coppedge Chronicle, 1542-1975, (pg 262).   Mary Jane Catlett Coppedge died in Washington County (now Marion County), Kentucky in 1812.  Although she has a memorial page on the Find A Grave website (Find A Grave Memorial# 73125083), her exact burial location is unknown.  She MAY be buried at Old Liberty Cemetery near Bradfordsville, Marion County, Kentucky.  An alternate burial  location could be the Coppage Cemetery on private property in Marion County, Kentucky.

Mary Jane Catlett was the daughter of John Catlett (circa 1705- 1788) and Mary Ann Grayson (circa 1705-1790), my 5x-great-grandparents. John Catlett’s Will, proved 23 March 1778 in Faquier County, Virginia, left to his “loving daughter Jane Coppage, my roan mare and colt, with my Saddle and Bridle, and my black walnut folding  table”  from his estate.  John Catlett had married Mary Ann Grayson on 20 October 1726 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

Below is a page from the book entitled "A history of Two Virginia Families Transplanted From County Kent, England. Thomas Baytop, Tenterden, 1638, and John Catlett, Sittingbourne, 1622." By Dr. and Mrs. William Carter Stubbs. Published 1918 in New Orleans, La .

The following research was posted by Bev Loomis to her public family tree Byrd/Alsbury/Sonnichsen/Hallum and Related Families on Ancestry.com, and is based on information she transcribed from the Will of John Catlett of Virginia, descendant of the Colonel John Catlett of Sittingbourne, Kent, England who immigrated to Virginia:

“In his will John Catlett refers to his plantation, 3,000 pounds of crop tobacco, a “Flock of cattle,” horses, a weaving loom, and walnut furniture, so we can surmise that he was a moderately successful tobacco farmer.  He wills to daughter Elizabeth “two white boys until they arrive at the age of 21 years, which boys were purchased for me with their father and mother.”  These were probably indentured servants who had been purchased for a fixed period of time.  No slaves were named in the will, although the labor-intensive crop of tobacco required many workers.”

“John Catlett’s children (their birth years are approximate), as named in his 1778 will, were:

1.                   William Catlett, born about 1739

2.                   Alexander Catlett (of Catlettsburg), about 1748-1823, married Susannah Beall

3.                   John Catlett (of Georgia)

4.                   Elizabeth Catlett, born about 1733, married David Marrow

5.                   Mary Ann Catlett, born about 1737, married John Hogan

6.                   Jane (Mary Jane) Catlett, about 1738-1815, married Moses Coppedge/Coppage

7.                   Barsheba Catlett, born about 1744, married Senate Young

8.                   Frances Catlett, about 1754-1818, married George Priest 

9.                   Isabell Catlett, born about 1757, married Mr. Summers”

It is believed that the parents of this John Catlett are John William Catlett (circa 1690- 1770) and Joan Lettico (circa 1695- 1748), of Frederick County, Virginia. (Further research pending to verify the lineage it is on my Genealogy To-Do List for 2012).  As is often the case with our ancestors, there were multiple “John Catlett”s and “William Catlett”s in Virginia in this time period.

 The progenitor and immigrant ancestor to America of this particular Catlett line is Colonel John Catlett (circa 1622- 1680) of Sittingbourne, Kent, England who immigrated to Rappahannock, Virginia about 1650.  Colonel Catlett married Elizabeth Underwood Slaughter, widow of Colonel Francis Slaughter, in January 1656 in Rappahannock, Virginia. He may also have had one other wife, a Mary Lucas, though as yet in my research no marriage record has been found of that union.

There is an interesting historical marker in Virginia, which indicates that in 1670 Colonel John Catlett accompanied the 3rd Expedition of John Lederer's company to explore the Blue Ridge Mountains region and view the Shenandoah Valley  of Virginia and the Carolinas. The records of Colonel Catlett seem to trail off there, indicating that he may have perished during this expedition or shortly thereafter. This is part of my research plan, “to be continued”.  

Wednesday's Child- Remembering Elizabeth Octavia Harrison, 1858- 1876

"Plucked By God To Bloom In Heaven"
E. Octavia- Daughter of John M and Mary J Harrison
Born Dec'r 10, 1858 - Died August 15, 1876
"No Sin Could Blight Or Sorrow Fade. Death Came With Friendly Care."
"The Opening Bud To Heaven Conveyed, And Bade It Blossom There."


So reads the original inscription on the headstone of my grand-aunt Elizabeth Octavia Harrison, who passed away barely past her 18th birthday in 1876. She was the daughter of my great-grandparents, John Milton Harrison and Mary Jane (Coppedge) Harrison, and sister of my grandfather John P Harrison.

Though worn by time and barely legible now, the headstone inscription was thankfully earlier recorded by local historians and transcribed in a booklet entitled: "The Cemeteries and Headstones of Maries County, Missouri- A Personal History", compiled by Gail Howard and Mozelle Hutchinson.


Hers was one of the first headstone inscriptions I came across when beginning to research my ancestry several years ago.  I have always wondered what took the life of the young lass called Octavia, whose headstone bore such a touching inscription of tenderness. She was apparently the eldest sibling in a family of 11 children, the first-born child of my great-grandparents.  "Plucked by God as an opening bud...to bloom in heaven".  Next to her lies her father, the Civil War Veteran who outlived her by 23 years.  This week, with the help of a cousin who lives near this country cemetery that is now on private property, a new headstone is being placed for her father John Milton Harrison, to replace his worn and badly deteriorated stone. I hope in the coming year that we can manage to get Octavia's stone cleaned and restored as well.

11th Missouri Infantry in the Civil War- Great-Grandpa's Regiment

Book Review:  11^TH MISSOURI INFANTRY IN THE CIVIL WAR- The Unit of my Great-Grandfather John Milton Harrison, Company H, Union Veteran, Civil War.

Recently I obtained a copy of a book detailing the history of my Great-Grandfather John M. Harrison’s military regiment during the Civil War.   I will post a brief book review here, and some of what I found interesting about the book.

The book is entitled “The 11^th Misouri Volunteer Infantry In The Civil War, A History and Roster”, by Dennis W. Belcher, published in 2009 by McFarland and Company Publishers Inc. The author has a PhD from Mississippi State University and is a descendant of a soldier in the 10^th Kentucky Infantry of the Civil War.  I am not sure why the author took such an interest in my great-grandfather’s military unit from a different state that his own ancestor, but I am glad he did. 

The author’s own words say it beautifully and far better than I can, so I will use direct quotes from the book frequently in this post.  The book is “the story of the 11^th Missouri Infantry” that “needed to be told.  One day a group of men proudly put on their blue uniforms, and for four and a half years willingly paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country. Let us never forget the men of the 11^th Missouri Infantry, and may their flag forever fly”. “These were men who proved again and again that they would fight, even when they were outnumbered and victory was not possible”.  ‘The 11^th Missouri never broke in any engagement, and the engagements were many, beginning with the Battle of Fredericktown, Missouri and ending at the Battle of Spanish Fort” in Alabama.

The book jacket contains the following description of the regiment, again quoted verbatim because I think it is a wonderful description: “The 11^th Missouri Infantry distinguished itself as just the type of regiment the Union needed in the Civil War. Hard as nails and loyal to a fault, the men of the ‘Eagle Brigade’ would follow their commanders to hell if ordered. They battled two Confederate regiments at Iuka, turned the tide at Corinth, assaulted the impossible Stockade Redan at Vicksburg as whole ranks of soldiers were cut down, and broke Hood’s line at Nashville.”   The author states on page 229 that “When the 11^th Missouri Infantry mustered out in 1866, they left a proud history.  They were a fighting regiment, and they were rough and rowdy. They were not a group that would have been pleasant to be around, but they were given a difficult and bloody job. There was none better than the 11^th Missouri”.

The book includes a detailed account of the history, movements and battles of the regiment and the various companies; with many photos of officers as well as privates, camps and battle locations, and transcripts of some of the letters written by soldiers in the unit. My great-great-grandfather is listed as a Veteran of Company H on page 290 in Appendix B of the book (though I note his middle initial is listed incorrectly as “W”, which is probably due to a transcription error).  Every known member of the regiment is listed, based on records the author obtained from the National Archives and the Missouri State Archives.   There are many brief biographical sketches of some of the officers as well as lesser-known soldiers. I did not find a photo or biographical information on my ancestor in the book, but learned a lot about what his experiences must have been like from reading this book.  I already have a copy of my ancestor’s complete military pension file from the National Archives which provided me with lots of biographical information.  For a fortunate few descendants, this book will supplement what they may already know about their soldier ancestors from the 11^th Missouri Infantry, and some will even be lucky enough to find their ancestor’s photo among the several in the book.

I found especially moving the transcripts of some of the actual letters written by young soldiers in the regiment to their loved ones back home.   The men who wrote the letters ranged in age from 18-34. Many were farm boys who had never traveled far from the farm or been away from home and loved ones before. Many wrote a few letters home, and then were killed in battle or died of sickness contracted in camp. Their descendants and the author kindly share those letters with us in this book. The letters told of the feelings, hopes, and fears of these young men;  as new recruits first arriving at camp, their experiences on marches,  their fears when preparing for the battles they knew lay ahead, and their worries about their own futures and the welfare of the loved ones they left behind.  Reading these letters really makes one aware that not a lot has changed over the years, relevant to sending our young men off to war, and the wartime experiences of these young men.  Today as then, our soldiers may be fighting for a different cause and in a different land, but their emotions and fears are the same. Duty, honor, and love of country are coupled with their loneliness and worries for their families and their own safety, and their sadness at seeing a best friend wounded, maimed, or killed in battle.   Dying of infectious diseases or dysentery contracted while serving under primitive and deprived conditions was especially worrisome during the Civil War. Service-related disease and sickness killed a large number of Union and Confederate soldiers, while leaving others with permanent disabilities and life-long conditions from which they never fully recovered.  My great-grandfather was among the latter group.