DNA Proves Family Lore

 As I work through DNA matches about which Ancestry suggests a common ancestor, I like to research everyone from the common ancestor forward through to the person with matching DNA. Then I add all the new information to my family tree.

My three times great grandmother was Anna Mariah or Marie Waldrond (1782-1868)1. Several of my Waldron DNA matches share Anna's father, Benjamin Walrond (died 1811) as our common ancestor as did this interesting match:

Ancestry.com suggested common ancestor; courtesy Ancestry.com

I had researched Thomas, John and Samuel Washington Waldron extensively. According to my research Samuel Washington Waldron didn't have a daughter named Sallie Bell and why was her maiden name Presley?

I found this note posted by Ancestry.com user Timothy Hunt in 2007:

Courtesy Ancestry.com

After much research, I discovered that the family lore outlined above was true as proved by my DNA to Sallie Belle's grandson as well as several other shared matches that could only be matches to me if a son of John Waldron fathered Sallie Bell. 

What Nina's grandmother, Bertha (Altizer) Waldron failed to mention however, was that Bertha's father Cecil Corbin Altizer was born before Bertha's marriage to Augustus Spotts Waldron, Samuel Washington Waldron's brother. Such a tangled, but oh so interesting family tree.

Relationships between Waldron and Altizer families; created using
Microsoft Powerpoint

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1 Spelling of the Walrond surname was later changed to Waldron.

Will "My" Coy Franklin Hicks Please Stand Up?

Mary Inez Muir was my first cousin once removed, the eldest daughter of my grand uncle, Henry "Jack" Muir and his first wife, Mary Frances Canterbury. Mary Inez was born on 8 January 1922 in Raven, Virginia. According to her granddaughter, she was married as many as nine times. So far, I have found at least the surnames of eight husbands. 

On 26 January 1994 Mary Inez married Coy Franklin Hicks in Tazewell County, Virginia. For years I could not find any additional information about Coy beyond his name. Earlier this week, I tried searching for him again. I had more success than I bargained for and found three men named Coy Franklin Hicks!

Virginia marriage record for Mary Inez and Coy Franklin Hicks; 
courtesy of Ancestry.com

Coy Franklin Hicks

• Born: 17 June 1917 in Caretta, West Virginia, to Mitchell and Rebecca "Beckie" (Boothe) Hicks.
• Died: 23 May 1999 in Tazewell County, Virginia
• Married: 1) Kathleen Hopkins (died in 1988) in 1938 and 2) Mary Inez Muir in 1994; no known children

Coy Franklin Hicks

• Born: 21 December 1918 in Davidson County, North Carolina, to Marvin and Cora Louise (Klass) Hicks
• Died: 8 June 1971 in Thomasville, North Carolina
• Married: 1) Dorothy Mae Loveless in 1938; one known child

Coy Franklin Hicks

• Born: after 1940 to Coy Harrison and Elma H. (Ward) Hicks
• Married: 1) Carolyn Joy Harris and 2) Trudy (maiden name unknown); three known children by his first wife

I was able to discount the North Carolina Coy Franklin Hicks fairly quickly as he died before the 1994 marriage to Mary Inez Muir. However, I added him to my tree in order to have facts about him readily available so I could better analyze each record I was finding to determine to which Coy Franklin Hicks they related.

However, I had a "stray" marriage record that led to the third Coy Franklin Hicks. On that record he and wife, Carolyn Joy Harris, were the parents of the bride. Was this "my" Coy Franklin Hicks? Determining there was actually a third man with that name was confirmed by the obituaries of Elma (Ward) Hicks and Tina Joy (Hicks) Stewart. To find those obituaries, though, required more researching. That's how I end up with unrelated people in my family tree. And research notes with links to all the men named Cory Franklin Hicks so I, and others in the future, don't have to do the research again.

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Unraveling Henry's Children: Mary Inez Muir (1922-2002) 

Charles W Lawson (1893-1922): Killed in a Mine Explosion

Charles "Charlie" W. Lawson married Mary Frances Crockett on 31 August 1921 in McDowell County, West Virginia. He was 28 years old at the time of their marriage and she was 16. Charles worked as a coal miner and a few weeks before their first anniversary, he was killed by dynamite in a mining accident in Coalwood, a town in McDowell County.

It was a tragic story, but sadly not all that unusual as mining was one of the most dangerous occupations in the country at the time.

And then I found this article about Charlie in the Charlotte Observer:

From The Charlotte Observer, 12 August 1922, page 12

YOUNG MAN KILLED IN MINE EXPLOSION

Tragedy Seems to Have Followed Two Generations of the Lawson Family, of Mount Airy

MOUNT AIRY, Aug. 10 -- The remains of Charlie Lawson arrived here Monday night and were carried to his former home in Virginia Tuesday for interment. The young man was killed in a mine explosion in Coalwood, W. Va. His death calls to mind the sad tragedy of the Lawson family, several years ago, about Christmas time, the elder Lawson, father of Charles, disappeared from his home and after an absence of a few weeks suspicion took form that there had been foul play. A search was made and the body found buried in a field near the home, the field had been plowed to cover signs of the grave. The father was a heavy drinker and was cruel to his wife when under the influence of liquor and the boy was tried for murdering his father. He was sentenced to 18 years in the penitentiary. About a year ago he was pardoned and went to West Virginia where he married. The people in the neighborhood petitioned the governor for his pardon, some feeling that he was not guilty, and if guilty there was great provocation.

Charlie's father was William Swanson Lawson and according to his death certificate, he was last seen on 23 December 1913. The cause of his death was a fractured skull and lacerated brain caused by murder. An article in the 19 January 1914 edition of The Robesonian stated that Charlie, aged 20, and his brother, Samuel, 17, confessed but said the murder was in defense of their mother.

Charles likely served 7 years in the state penitentiary before he was pardoned in 1921.

His wife, Mary Frances (Crockett) Lawson was pregnant at the time of his death and gave birth to a daughter, Naovea Claire, on 11 March 1923.

She married my third cousin twice removed, Theodore Roosevelt Barrett[1], in July 1926. They had four children together before Mary Frances died on 15 January 1936, at the age of 30, of puerperal sepsis, a postpartum infection following the birth of their youngest child.

Theodore married Mary Frances' sister, Marjorie Claire (Crockett) Jarrett, a widow, on 19 July 1939 in Buchanan County, Virginia.

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[1] Theodore Roosevelt Barrett descended from our most recent common ancestor as follows: Benjamin Waldron >> Thomas Waldron >> Augustus Spotts Waldron >> Mary Jane (Waldron) Barrett. Waldron was most often spelled Walrond before the Civil War.

William "Fletcher" Claytor or Fletcher Claytor

A couple of days ago, I posted a biographical sketch of the Fletcher Claytor I already had in my family tree. However, as I reviewed my research prior to writing that post, I learned about two other men named Fletcher Claytor, both born in Floyd County. Many public trees have combined these two men into the same person. I began to realize they were different when I noted their birth dates on several records.

William Fletcher Claytor (1879-1955)
William Fletcher Claytor was born on 28 February 1879 in Floyd County, Virginia, to Jackson Claytor and his first wife, Jane Price, daughter of Chester and Clementine Price. He went by "Fletcher," instead of his first name, and his father is thought to be the brother of Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949). William Fletcher married Ida Jane Davis[1], daughter of Isaac and Malinda Davis on 19 September 1901 in Floyd County; they had several children. By 1906 Fletcher lived in West Virginia where he worked as a coal miner. Fletcher died 6 February 1955 in Fayette County.

William Fletcher Claytor's World War II Draft Registration Card; courtesy of
Ancestry.com

Fletcher Claytor (1878-1953)
Fletcher Claytor was born on 8 October 1878 in Floyd County, Virginia, to George Claytor and Serine Wilson. As a young man he made his way to Des Moines, Iowa. In 1925 he was enumerated there with a spouse named Lizzie. Also living with them was his father-in-law, Sam Jackson. However, he married Dorothy Turner, daughter of Arthur Turner and Julia Collins, on 25 May 1929. They had three known sons: Henry, Morris (also known as Ali Muhammad) and Freddie. Dorothy died in 1951 and Fletcher died in 1953.

Fletcher Claytor World War II Draft Registration Card; courtesy of Ancestry.com

At first I thought this Fletcher Claytor's father, George, was the third teen-aged boy living with Gloster and Irena Claytor in Floyd County in 1870[2]. However, that George Claytor married Frances Jane Reynolds, a sister of the wife of Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949). I feel sure all of these people are related to each other. I just don't know how yet.

The men named Fletcher Claytor, all born in Floyd County, Virginia;
created using Microsoft PowerPoint

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[1] Ida Jane's death certificate stated that her parents were Stephen and Linda Turner, but I believe her mother married Stephen Turner after Ida Jane was born.

[2] See Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free
In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free

Fletcher Claytor was born enslaved in 1859[1]. When the 1870 census was enumerated Fletcher lived in the household of Gloster and Irena Claytor. In the same household were three daughters born after the Civil War and assumed to be the daughters of Gloster and Irena. Also in the household were three  teen-aged boys -- George, Jack, and Fletcher. Perhaps Irena is their mother; we just don't know for sure who their parents were. This Claytor household lived in the Locust Grove district of Floyd County, Virginia. We know from cohabitation registers held by the Library of Virginia, several people formerly enslaved by Harvey Claytor,[2] a large landowner in Franklin County, Virginia, settled in Floyd County.

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949); courtesy of Daryl Watkins
via Jane Lawry

By 1880 Fletcher Claytor left home as he was not enumerated with Gloster and Irena but I have been unable to find him in that decennial census. Fletcher married Serena A. Reynolds, daughter of Harvey A. and Nancy (Guerrant) Reynolds, on 26 August 1888 in Floyd County. When the 1900 census was enumerated Fletcher owned a farm free and clear with no mortgage, and he and Serena had five children.

In September 1908 Serena became a patient at the Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia. The institution was originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum and was the first such institution established in the country for "colored persons of unsound mind." Patients of the hospital were admitted for being demented, tubercular, epileptic, criminal, suicidal or suffering from psychosis. Until 1915 some of the supposed causes of psychosis included abortion, masturbation, or typhoid fever. Before the Civil War the enslaved who deserted, were emancipated, or married without permission could be diagnosed as psychotic and committed!

Central State Hospital building for chronically ill females; courtesy of
Wikipedia

Fletcher remained on his farm in Floyd County with three of his five children. Ulysses (born about 1894) and Junie V., (born about 1897) were not listed on the 1910 census or on any later record so it is assumed they died some time between 1900 and 1910. Fletcher's wife, Serena, died on 24 October 1918 at the Central State Hospital of acute dysentery.

By 1930 all of the children had left home. Fletcher continued to live on his farm. A married couple also lived on the farm and helped with farm labor and housekeeping. In 1940 a different married couple helped out with the farm and Fletcher had boarders.

Some time after 1940, Fletcher Claytor moved to Garten, West Virginia, where his daughter, Sadie May (Claytor) Ritchie lived with her husband and children.

On 7 January 1948 Fletcher wrote his last will and testament:

I, Fletcher Claytor, residing in Garten in the county of Fayette and State of West Virginia being in sound mind and disposing memory do make and ordain and declare this to be my last will and testament, by revoking all former wills and codicils by me made.

In the Fayette Co. National Bank is $3,000.00. I bequeath to the heirs of my oldest son, Leonard ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars.

To my son, O. M. Claytor, I bequeath ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars and to my daughter, Sadie Ritchie, I bequeath ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars.

I loaned to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Garten ($1,500.00) one thousand and five hundred dollars, which will be due in Nov. 1948 with 6% interest making a total of $1,590.00, one thousand five hundred and ninety dollars. This is to be divided equally among the heirs named above $530.00 each.

Lastly, I evoke[?] constitute and appoint my son, O. (Orestes) M. Claytor to be the executor of this my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed this the 7th day of January in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.

Fletcher Claytor (signed)

The Children

HIRAM LEONARD CLAYTOR was born about 1891 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. He married Isabelle M. Chambliss on 20 January 1924 in Princeton, West Virginia. Hiram, who went by Leonard, was struck by an automobile on 21 August 1933 in Princeton and died the next day from a fractured skull. He and Isabelle had two sons: Hiram Leonard, Jr., and Clarence. Isabelle married Arthur Joseph Forney, a widower, on 17 October 1936 in Tazewell County, Virginia.

ORESTES MEREDITH CLAYTOR was born on 21 June 1892 in Floyd County. He served with the U.S. Army during World War I as a private in Company I, 802nd Pioneer Infantry. Pioneer infantry regiments were trained in infantry tactics but also combat engineering. Twenty of the 37 Pioneer infantry regiments in World War I were filled by African-Americans.

802nd Pioneer Infantry breaks stone to build roads so that guns can be brought
up to be placed in position. Chappy Meuse, France. Oct. 12, 1918; courtesy of
the U.S. Army

Orestes sailed from Brest, France, on the SS Nansemond on 28 June 1919 and was honorably discharged the following month. Some time before the 1930 census was enumerated he married, but his wife's name is not known at this time. On 1 September 1954 in Charleston, West Virginia, he married Lera Alice (Kidd) Berger; both were divorced. Orestes died in on 12 November 1975 in Charleston. He was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in that same city. No children were mentioned in his obituary.

ULYSSES S. CLAYTOR was born about 1894 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. He died some time between 1900 and 1910.

SADIE MAY CLAYTOR was born on 8 November 1905 in Floyd County. She married Samuel James Ritchie on 17 August 1913 in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Samuel died on 25 June 1965 in Raleigh County and Sadie died on 21 July 1976. They had ten children: Goldie May, Lurinda, Dorothy Evelyn, Henry Orestes, James Leroy, Joseph Edward, William Orswell, Thomas Demaurice, Samuel Vatelle, and Harold Lonelle.

JUNIE V. CLAYTOR was born about 1897 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. She died some time between 1900 and 1910.

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NOTE: A Letcher Claytor born about 1860 lived in the household of David and Letitia Claytor in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1870 and 1880 but I have discounted him as being this Fletcher Claytor as other records consistently indicated Fletcher was born in Floyd County. At least that is my current working theory.

[1] Based on his age at death which was 89 years, 8 months, 15 days.

[2] Some think Fletcher Claytor was the son of Harvey Claytor and the family cook, Letitia, who was also enslaved. However, in 1870, he did not live in the same household as Letitia but rather in the household of Gloster and Irena Claytor. I have several DNA matches with descendants of Harvey Claytor and Letitia, but do not with descendants of Gloster or Irena Claytor. Harvey Claytor's mother was the daughter of my five times great grandfather Robert Mitchell (c1714-1799).

In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

A Shot Rang Out and Tore Apart a Family

One day a shot rang out and Lizzie Tolles was wounded. In 1895 a Douglas County, Oregon, grand jury determined there was enough evidence to charge Edward "Ned" Trent Bridges, Jr. with assault with the intent to kill. Justice seemed as slow then as it does today because the final judgment in the case was not rendered until 1899.

Douglas County, Oregon, Courthouse; courtesy of Genealogical Society of
Douglas County

Perhaps in preparation for being found guilty, Ned Bridges and his brother-in-law, Enon Lilly, did some fancy land trading. Ned sold his land to Enon and then, in turn, Enon deeded the land to Ned's wife, Mary Etta (Lilly) Bridges. My supposition was these transactions were to ensure the land could not be taken as a result of Ned's legal troubles.

Ned must have held out some hope that he would not have to go to jail because he was enumerated in the 1900 census with Mary and three of their children. Their son, Edward Trent Bridges, III, must have died sometime after his birth in 1891 and before 1900 because he was not included in the enumeration of the family. But sometime after the census, Ned did a runner.

He simply disappeared.

He and Mary had married on 7 January 1886 in Mercer County, West Virginia. Ned was son of Dr. Edward Trent Bridges, Sr., and Sarah Pope Claytor, daughter of Harvey Claytor[1] and Adeline Walker. He was 25 years old and Mary was 15. She was the daughter of Johnson Keatley Lilly and Alabama Gore. Ned and Mary had four children in Mercer County before Ned's grandmother, Adeline (Walker) Claytor, died. She made her grandson, Ned, Jr., the executor of her will. The Walker and Claytor were families prominent Virginia families and owned large plantations. Though the Civil War wrecked havoc on their financial position, there was still plenty of money.

Ned's inheritance enabled he and his family, along with his brother-in-law and his family to move to Oregon. The brothers-in-law bought a tract of land together in Douglas County on 9 May 1891.

Ned and Mary's oldest daughter married Authur O. Parks in 1907. Mary and the two youngest children, Bruce and Lucy, lived at 441 Fowler Street in Deer Creek, Oregon. Mary worked as a dressmaker to support her family. Her children also contributed to the family coffers as Bruce worked for the railroad as a fireman and Lucy was a clerk for a dry goods establishment.

And Ned, well, he was still alive and kicking. His runner had taken him almost 700 miles south to Butte County, California, where he boarded with Nathaniel and Clara Burns and worked as a hired man for a blacksmith. I don't know if he kept in touch with Mary and his children or not, but Mary had clearly had enough of her absentee husband. She was granted a divorce on 24 March 1919.

News-Review, 24 March 1919; courtesy of Newspapers.com

Ned Bridges, Jr. died on 22 June 1928 in Butte County, California, and was interred in the Old Oroville Cemetery.

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[1] Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) was my first cousin five times removed. This is the second new branch I've been able to add to my family tree as a result of DNA matches with other people who are related to Harvey Claytor, including:

In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)
Savior of the USS Indianapolis Survivors

Cornelius W. White or Cornelius W. White?

While researching DNA matches I "met" Cornelius W. White, who married Rebecca D. Wilcox, my second cousin three times removed and great granddaughter of Matthew McMullin, Sr. (before 1765-about 1816).

My first questions were "where was Cornelius W. White born" and "who were his parents." Then I moved on to "you bigamist, you!" After hours of research I have determined there were two men named Cornelius W. White married to different women with different families, but Find A Grave and many, many public trees are incorrect, combining these two different men into one person.

Cornelius W. White (1840-1925) (Link requires an Ancestry subscription)

This Cornelius W. White has no known relationship to me. He was born on 1 November 1840 in Mercer County, Virginia (now West Virginia). His parents were Carling Ferguson White and Sarah F. Bailey. He married Zelphia R. Stewart on 5 November 1863 and had six known children:

1. William W. White born 31 August 1864; died 4 November 1954; married 1) Annie Kate Knopp and 2) Nettie Beckett
2. Lottie E. White born 13 April 1870; died 19 March 1950
3. Leighton Albert White born 3 April 1873; died 6 December 1919; married Salena Taylor
4. Joseph N. White born in 1876; died in 1951; married Bessie Estella Nirk
5. George Emmet White born  23 October 1878; died in July 1972; married Jessie Melissa Lewis
6. Winton Egbert White born 23 November 1882; died in 1946; married Edith Grace McTaggart

This Cornelius W. White died 2 November 1925 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and was interred at the Dr. Jesse Bennett Cemetery in Point Pleasant. 

West Virginia Death Certificate for Cornelius W. White; courtesy of the
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History

Cornelius W. White (c1839-after 1907) (Link requires an Ancestry subscription)

This was "my" Cornelius W. White and he was much harder to research, of course! He was born about 1839 in Tazewell County, Virginia, according to his Civil War pension application to William G. White and Matilda (maiden name unknown). He married Rebecca D. Wilcox on 17 September 1860 in Scott County, Virginia. He joined the Confederate States Army on 12 March 1862 and served in Company A of the 48th Virginia Infantry Regiment until the end of the war.

Virginia Marriage Index for Cornelius W. White and Rebecca D. Wilcox;
courtesy of FamilySearch.org

Cornelius and Rebecca had eight known children:

1. Badora "Dora" White born 15 May 1858; died 14 November 1936; married Alexander Mitchell Steffey
2. William Augustus White born 9 August 1861; died 20 April 1924; married Nannie Magdalina Buchanan
3. Robert E. White born 14 April 1866; died 23 June 1922; married Laura Daniel
4. John A. White born 9 January 1868; died 8 April 1900
5. Mary Etta (or Ellen) White born 28 April 1868; died 15 Dec 1931; married 1) Robert Thomas Aker and 2) Andrew Jackson Beverly
6. Minerva M. "Tillie" White born 29 November 1875; died 23 October 1901; married Greenfield Taylor Dyer
7. Fayette McMullin White born 3 October 1877; died 23 June 1961; married Jacka Charlotte Snider
8. Lou Emma White born 1 September 1879; died 23 March 1912; married James Edward Overstreet

Cornelius' wife, Rebecca died on 18 June 1887 in Smyth County, Virginia, and was interred at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Groseclose, Virginia.

Cornelius applied for a pension[1] on 13 August 1907. He claimed he had lived in Virginia all of his life and in Smyth County for 28 years. He said he was 68 years old and had been partially paralyzed for four years. He died sometime after 1907 but I do not know when.

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[1] A big thank you to Ancestry.com member mikebrewer55, who added the pension application to his family tree.

52 Ancestors #31: Alice (Muir) Jennings (1906-1993): Grandma Jennings

Ancestor: Alice (Muir) Jennings, grandmother

Alice Muir was born on 16 March 1906 in Novinger, Missouri, to Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin. She was their second and last child as her mother died of tuberculosis in 1909. Alice was born blind in her left eye, having a detached retina. In 1910 newly widowed Robert Muir lived in Nineveh, Missouri, with his two young children -- Henry and Alice. The children's paternal grandmother, Margaret (Semple) Muir and her youngest daughter, lived next door.

Alice's father remarried in 1911 and Alice and Henry were sent to live with their grandmother, Margaret Muir, while their father raised a new family in East St. Louis, Illinois, and he worked in nearby coal mines. Robert Muir moved his family to West Virginia some time before 1920 as one of his daughters was born there that year.

When the 1920 census was enumerated, Alice continued to live with her grandmother in Nineveh, but her brother had left and joined his father in West Virginia. Grandmother Muir died on 31 May 1920 three days after an operation. At the age of 14 Alice Muir was on her own. She lived for brief periods of time with various Muir aunts and uncles.

According to an article in the Troy Call, she attended the fifth annual Riggin family reunion held at her maternal grandmother, Clementine (Wells) Riggin Collins' home on 19 August 1921 in Troy, Illinois. Eventually, she made her way to West Virginia, and worked with a family as a maid/governess in War. There she met Marvin Edward Jennings, a clerk with the Norfolk & Western Railroad. They met at a silent movie. Alice was reading the movie to her employer's young son and Marvin and his friends sat behind Alice and mimicked her during the movie.

Marvin and Alice dated for a few months but eventually Alice moved back to East St. Louis. When she discovered she was pregnant, Marvin quit his job with the railroad, traveled to Illinois, and married her on 13 May 1924 in East St. Louis.

Alice Muir standing on the station platform of the East St. and Suburban
Railway, which was an electric commuter train, circa 1925; personal
collection

Their daughter Pearl was born on 19 September 1924 but died a few months later on 30 December 1924. The coupled lived at 870 North 80th Street in East St. Louis, just a few houses away from a house her father owned. Her husband worked for the Illinois Central Railroad Company.

Marvin and Alice's oldest son was born in 1927. Alice, my grandmother, used to say after Uncle Marvin was born, she was unable to get pregnant and went to a doctor in St. Louis. He told her that her womb was twisted. So she went every week for 26 treatments, which apparently consisted of untwisting her womb a little bit at a time. Two months after her last treatment, she was pregnant. Their youngest son was born in 1931.

Marvin and Alice (Muir) Jennings with their sons; personal
collection

When the Depression struck, Marvin Jennings lost his job with the railroad. He did odd jobs to make a little money but the family was on Relief for a period of time. In 1941, Marvin took a job with the federal government and the family moved to Washington, DC, where they lived for a year before buying a house in Arlington County, Virginia.

Marvin Jennings died in 1961. Alice was left with a mortgage and a $1,000 in the bank. She got a job as an accounting clerk with the U.S. Navy and worked on expense reports submitted by Naval officers. However, to get to work, she had to buy a car and learn to drive. My father, her youngest son, always said teaching her was quite an experience.

Alice sold the family home and lived in a series of apartments until she retired. She and Marvin had bought a fishing shack on a tidal creek of the Chesapeake Bay in Deale Beach, Maryland, just before his death. Her youngest son, winterized it and built an addition, and she retired there.  She also began wintering in Saint Petersburg, Florida. When her sons moved to North Carolina, building homes next door to each other, Alice bought a mobile home and had it placed on their property, living there until her death.

Alice (Muir) Jennings died on 14 December 1993 of a cerebrovascular accident in Pamilco County at Britt Haven Nursing Home, where she had been treated for two months prior to her death. She was interred beside her husband at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Virginia.

Alice and her husband were active in the Odd Fellows and the Daughters of Rebekah lodge organizations and both held offices in their local chapters. After her retirement, Alice indulged her love of travel visiting Europe several times, the Middle East, Hawaii, and took several cruises.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. The theme for this week was "Oldest," which I did not follow.

Using the Ancestral Reference Numbering System, Alice (Muir) Jennings, is Ancestor number 5 on my family tree:

5 Alice Muir was born on 16 March 1906 in Novinger, Missouri, to Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin; died on 14 December 1993 in Alliance, North Carolina; married Marvin Edward Jennings on 13 May 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois.

5.1 Pearl Marie Jennings born 19 September 1924 in East St. Louis, Missouri; died 30 December 1924 in East St. Louis.

5.2 Marvin Edward Jennings, Jr. born 23 July 1927 in East St. Louis, Missouri; married Rachel Mildred Lange, daughter of Gustav Lange and Wilhelmina Schalin, on 5 April 1952 in Arlington County, Virginia.

2 Charles Theodore Jennings born 14 December 1931 in Centreville, Illinois; married Dorothy Ailein Lange, daughter of Gustav Lange and Wilhelmina Schalin, on 15 November 1957 in Arlington County, Virginia.

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'Alice Muir at train station,' personal collection
1910 Federal Census, Census Place: O'Fallon, Saint Clair, Illinois; Roll: T624_323; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0155; Image: 641; FHL microfilm: 1374336
1920 Federal Census, Census Place: Nineveh, Adair, Missouri; Roll: T-625_902; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 17; Image: 330
1930 Federal Census, Census Place: East St Louis, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: 557; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 61; Image: 55.0; FHL microfilm: 2340292
1940 Federal Census, Census Place: Signal Hill, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: T627_879; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 82-35
Global, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, 1993 Alice Jennings
Riggin Family Reunion, Troy Weekly Call, 25 August 1929
Riggin Family Reunion, Edwardsville Intelligencer, 8 August 1948
Social News Notes, Troy Call, 19 August 1921
US, City Directories, 1822-1939, 1926 East St Louis, Illinois (Alice Jennings)
US, City Directories, 1822-1939, 1928 East St Louis, Illinois (Alice Jennings)
US, City Directories, 1822-1939, 1930 East St Louis, Illinois (Alice Jennings)
US, Illinois Marriage License,  No. H-11915
US, Illinois Marriage License 1924 Jennings, Marvin - Muir, Alice
US, Missouri Delayed or Special Certificate of Birth, No. 524307
US, North Carolina, Certificate of Death 060-482
US, North Carolina, Certificate of Death, Book 26, Page 181
US, North Carolina Death Index, 1908-2004, Deaths: 1993-96
US, Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume I, 1993 Arapahoe, North Carolina (Alice M Jennings)
US, Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume II, Alice M Jennings (St Petersburg, Florida)
US, Virginia, Find A Grave Index, 1607-2012, 1993 Alice M Jennings

52 Ancestors #30: Robert Muir (1875-1956): Union Mine Organizer?

Ancestor: Robert Muir, Great Grandfather
Haplogroup: Unknown

Robert Muir was born on 16 March 1875 in Swinhill in the parish of Dalserf, Scotland to James and Margaret (Semple) Muir. He was the couple's second child together but their oldest son had died the previous year. When the 1881 census was enumerated Robert lived with his mother at the farm of his maternal grandparents, Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple. His father was not at the home when the census was taken.

Remains of Robert Muir's Sottish birth registration; personal collection

In June of 1887 James Muir immigrated to the United States. Margaret followed later that year with their living children.  They arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 30 September 1887 aboard the Allen Line's S/S Manitoban. The ship had sailed from Glasgow, Scotland, and made a brief stop in Ireland before reaching Philadelphia. Margaret, Robert, and his siblings likely took the train to Streator, Illinois, where James worked as a coal miner. Robert Muir became a naturalized United citizen on 10 October 1896 at the Livingston County Courthourse.

In 1900 he lived with his mother and two younger brothers in Reading, Illinois, where he worked as a coal miner beside his brother Peter. Each had been unemployed for six months during the previous year.

He and Ida Mae Riggin applied for a marriage license on 12 October 1902 in Collinsville, Illinois, and were married shortly thereafter. They lived in Troy for about a year after their marriage; then moved to Novinger, Missouri, where they were living when Robert's cousin, Peter Muir, listed him as his contact when he arrived in the United States in 1903. They moved to O'Fallon, Illinois, just before Ida Mae (Riggin) Muir died in 1909. The couple had two children, Henry and Alice.

In 1910 Robert and his two young children lived in O'Fallon, Illinois, next door to his mother. I imagine she helped care for his children as they were not yet school aged.

On 26 September 1911 Robert married Elizabeth "Liz" Fausz in St. Louis. They both claimed to be over 18 years old and that was certainly the case with Robert, but Liz was only 17 and pregnant. When Robert was required to register for the World War I draft in 1918, the family lived in the Edgemont Station area of East St. Louis, Illinois. Robert's appearance was described as being of medium height and stout build with blue eyes and partially gray hair. He and Liz had four children together. All but Henrietta was born in Illinois.

Robert was not enumerated in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 U.S. federal census. However, he was listed in the East St. Louis city directories between 1924 and 1930. He owned a home on 436 North 80th Street.

His daughter, Alice, my grandmother, always said her father was a union organizer and traveled frequently to coal mines across the country trying to get the workers to unionize. She said he'd been blackballed from several mines, threatened and even shot at. I always thought these stories were fantasies of a young girl who didn't know her father very well. However, not finding him in so many census records makes me wonder.

Robert Muir applied for the new Social Security insurance program on 4 December 1936. At the time he submitted his application he lived in Iaeger, West Virginia, and worked for the Pocahontas Red Bird Mining Co.

Social Security application with Robert Muir's signature; personal
collection

He divorced Liz some time before 1940. When he retired from mining, some time after 1942, he bought a small piece of property along a river in Van Buren County, Tennessee. On that property he lived in an abandoned bus.

Robert Muir's Coal Miner's Certificate from the West Virginia
Department of Mines; personal collection

He was hospitalized in September 1956 while in southwest Virginia visiting his family. He died on 23 September 1956 at the Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital in Richlands, Virginia, of a cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease. He was 81 years old at the time of his death and was interred at Iaeger Memorial Cemetery in Roderfield, West Virginia.

Robert Muir died without a will. His real and personal property was auctioned off in two separate sales on 11 October and 15 November 1956. When his estate was settled in 1957, each of his six children received $310.52.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. The theme for this week was "Colorful," which I did not follow.

Using the Ancestral Reference Numbering System, Robert Muir, is Ancestor number 10 on my family tree:

10 Robert Muir born 16 March 1875 in Swinhill, Dalserf, Lanarkshire, Scotland, to James Muir and Margaret Semple; died on 23 September 1956 in Richlands, Virginia; married 1) Ida Mae Riggin, daughter of John Wesley Riggin and Clementine Wells, on 12 October 1902 in Collinsville, Illinois, and 2) Elizabeth "Liz" Fausz, daughter of Peter Fausz and Margaret Dietrich, on 26 September 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri (divorced)

10.1 Henry "Jack" Muir born 29 May 1903 in Adair County, Missouri, to Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin; died 24 May 1986 in Gretna, Louisiana; married 1) Mary Frances Canterberry, daughter of Howard Canterberry and Nancy Robertson on 3 July 1921 in Walls Creek, West Virginia, (divorced) 2) Armitar Ormmueth Alleman, daughter of Arrestide Alleman and Alice Istre, on 24 February 1930 in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, (divorced) 3) Eppa "Eppie" (Swan) Childs Swafford, daughter of William Henry Swan and Edna Sarah Norvell, before 1953, likely in Louisiana, and 4) Edith Mary (Davenport) Samples in May 1979 in St. Bernard Parish.

5 Alice Muir born 16 March 1906 in Novinger, Missouri, to Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin; died 14 December 1993 in Pamlico County, North Carolina; married Marvin Edward Jennings, son of Charles Edward Jennings and Effie Beard, on 13 May 1924.

10.3 Robert Muir, Jr. born 7 January 1912 in O'Fallon, Illinois, to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 22 February 1959 in Welch, West Virginia; married 1) Sadie Viola Cline, daughter of John Estil Cline and Maude Rasnake, on 1 November 1930 in Russell County, Virginia, (divorced) and 2) a woman named Carrie after 1949.

10.4 Verna Muir born 3 July 1917 in Illinois to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 18 April 2010 in Ravenswood, West Virginia; married Franz "Frank" Burglechner, son of Unknown Burglechner and Maria "Mary" Miller, before 1935.

10.5 Henrietta Muir born 14 January 1920 in Tralee, West Virginia to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 23 February 2008 in Eglin, Illinois.

10.6 Margaret Elizabeth Muir born 26 September 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 14 June 1988 in Richlands, Virginia; married Cecil Roy Hess, son of Charles Robert Hess and Jessie Mae Fitzgerald, on 24 October 1942 in Buchanan County, Virginia (divorced).

_________________
'Remains of Robert Muir's Scottish Birth Registration,' personal collection
'Robert Muir's Coal Miner's Certificate,' personal collection
'Social Security Application,' personal collection
1881 Scotland Census, 03/04/1881 Semple, Peter (Census 1881 638/02 002/00 018)
1900 US Federal Census, Census Place: Reading, Livingston, Illinois; Roll: 318; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0114; FHL microfilm number: 1240318
1910 US Federal Census, Census Place: O'Fallon, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: T624_323; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0155; Image: 641; FHL microfilm: 1374336
Alice (Muir) Jennings' Genealogy Notebook, page 4, 8
Scotland, Statutory Registrations, 1855-2013, 1875 Muir, Robert (Statutory Births 638/02 0037)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1924 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1926 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1928 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1930 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, Illinois, Livingston County Court, Naturalization Application, 10 Oct 1896
US, Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002, 1911 Muir, Robert - Fausz, Elizabeth
US, Pennsylvania, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1800-1963, 1887 Muir, Robert
US, Social Security Application, Number: 235-10-9644
US, Social Security Card, Number 235-10-9644, State: West Virginia
US, Tennessee, Van Buren County Court Administrator, Settlement of and with C. C. Greer, Administrator, 27 Jun 1957
US, Tennessee, Van Buren County Court Administrator, Goods and Chattels Sale, 11 Oct 1956
US, Tennessee, Van Buren County Court Administrator Estate Sale, 11 Nov 1956
US, Virginia, Death Certificate 1956, Muir, Robert, No. 22810
US, West Virginia, Department of Mines, Coal Miner's Certificate No. 93665
US, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, State: Illinois; County: St. Clair; Roll: 1614579; Draft Board: 1

52 Ancestors #8: Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr. (1901-1961): A Railroadman

Ancestor Name: Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr., grandfather
DNA Haplogroup: I-M253

Marvin Edward Jennings was born on 15 November 1901 or 1902 (though he used 1901 throughout his life) to 58-year-old Charles Edward Jennings, a Civil War veteran, and his second wife, Effie Beard, in Roanoke, Virginia, likely at their home, 1201 Loudon Avenue, NW. His father co-owned a grocery store located at the corner of Wells Avenue and 12th Street, NW. He was their third child, though his father had seven children, six still living by his first wife. A month after Marvin turned four years old, his mother had another son. She died on 4 May 1906 and her youngest son died five weeks later.

In 1910, Marvin, his father and full siblings lived at 1211 Loudon Avenue, but his father no longer owned the grocery. Instead, he worked as a carpenter for a building contractor. Family lore indicated Charles' partner in the grocery business absconded with the all the money, leaving Charles with no business and no way to support his children who still remained at home.

In 1911 he decided he could no longer care for his children. We learn from the orphanage application Marvin's half brother completed and the correspondence with the Lutheran Orphanage in Salem that his father placed Marvin's brother Leo, with a married half-sister, who lived in Erwin, Tennessee, and his sister with her maternal aunt, Sarah (Beard) Mays, who also lived in Roanoke. Her husband was also a carpenter, so perhaps he got Charles his job after he lost the grocery.

The letter Daniel Jennings wrote Superintendent Crabtree, who ran the orphanage was obtained by my father when he was still actively researching his family history:

Aug. 9th, 1911

Prof. J. T. Crabtree, Supt.,
Lutheran Orphanage
Salem, Va.

Dir Sir:

Referring to our conversation with you on last Monday concerning the admission of my brother into your institute, beg to enclose herewith formal application, his Father being well pleased with the conditions under which he will be admitted, provided, of course, your Board of Trustees consider the application favorably.

Concerning Marvin, would say his is of amiable disposition, easily controlled, and a bright and studious child. He has been attending the Roanoke public school since old enough, and has successfully passed all examinations which places him in the second "A", Primary grade at the beginning of the next school term.

You will note from application sheet that he has had most of the diseases of children, but his general health is good; his slight lameness is not a deformity, but due to the effect of measles which he had when quite a small child.[1]

He has one own brother and sister who are minors. His brother, Leo, resides with a half-sister in Tennessee, the sister with her aunt, Mrs. Mays, Roanoke. He has three half brothers residing in Roanoke, one half-sister residing in Roanoke, and, and one half-sister, above mentioned, residing in Erwin, Tenn.

His father is 68 years old, has fairly good health and was for many years engaged in the mercantile business in Roanoke, but for the past four or five years has been a building contractor.

You will also find enclosed herewith letter addressed to you from Hon. H. B. Trout concerning the application form.

The writer is especially anxious that the child be placed under your care, and sincerely trusts that the matter may receive favorable consideration by your Board of Trustees.

Yours very truly,

D. M. Jennings

Lutheran Orphanage Application for Marvin Edward Jennings; personal collection

The orphanages had been established in the 1890s when accidents and diseases like tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid, and malaria frequently robbed children of their parents. In those post Civil War years, according to one report, the number of orphans grew to "unthinkable levels" and "across Virginia, frightened children roamed the streets and countryside begging for handouts and mercy." The Lutheran Orphanage was originally known as the Lutheran Orphan Home of the South it moved to Salem, Virginia, in 1896, and was housed in an elegant five-story building, formerly the Hotel Salem on College Avenue. This building served as the orphanage until 1927, an imposing 80-room, red-brick structure, almost castle-like in appearance, with its tower, turrets, dormers and arched windows. Rev. John T. Crabtree became the superintendent in 1904. He was a Confederate veteran, former Salem High School principal and Roanoke College professor. He served the orphanage until 1922.

Marvin Edward Jennings at the Lutheran Orphanage, back row fourth from left;
personal collection

In 1916 Marvin's brother, Leo, enlisted in the Army. It's not known whether Marvin ever saw his brother again. Marvin's father died in 1917 at the home of his daughter, Leta Jennings Womack, in Erwin, Tennessee. By 1920 Marvin had been released from the orphanage and lived with his half-brother, Daniel Jennings, who worked as a manager at a wholesale shoe company. Marvin worked as a clerk for Norfolk & Western (N&W) in Roanoke. His duties included calculating the freight rates charged to the railroad's commercial clients. This included figuring weight of the freight, miles traveled and over which railroad company's tracks.

He was transferred to War, West Virginia, deep in coal country and met Alice Muir at a silent movie. She worked as a maid in home and had taken her employer's son to the movies. Since he was too young to read, Alice read the dialogue to him. Marvin went to the picture with some friends and sat nearby. They began "walking out," as dating was then called. Not long afterwards Alice moved back to East St. Louis, Illinois, where her father owned a home. When she learned she was pregnant, she wrote to Marvin, who quit his job, moved to Illinois and married Alice on 13 May 1924 in East St. Louis. Their daughter, Pear Marie, was born on 19 September 1924 in East St. Louis and died in the same city on 30 December of the same year.

After moving to East St. Louis, Marvin worked for the Illinois Central railroad, sometimes called the main line of mid-America, where he again worked as a rate clerk. Marvin and Alice began their marriage living in the home owned by Alice's father, a coal miner and union organizer who was then working in West Virginia. In 1927 they had a son and lived at 8305 State Street in East St. Louis. Their youngest child was born in 1931.

The Marvin Edward Jennings family; personal collection

As the Depression deepened its awful grip on the country, Marvin lost his job with the railroad. He went on relief, as government aid to needy families was then called, mowed lawns, and did whatever work he could find. When their youngest child was still an infant, Alice's aunt Janie and her husband, Herbert Beck, invited Marvin and Alice to Montana, to live on the land they had homesteaded in the 1920s near Roy, in Fergus County. When the train pulled into the station, there were several feet of snow on the ground, Alice was not impressed, and they soon returned to Illinois.

In 1941, Marvin got a job with the federal government and worked for the General Accounting Office (GAO), a legislative branch agency, established in 1921 and responsible for investigating all matters related to public funds and make recommendation for greater efficiency and economy of expenditures. He worked in the Transportation division on railroad matters. The family rented a row house in Washington, DC, before buying a home in the Spout Run area of Arlington County. This was to be their home until Marvin's death.

They also bought a 4-room fishing shack on Carrs Creek, a tidal creek of the Chesapeake Bay in Deale Beach, Maryland. Fishing was one of Marvin's greatest pastimes and he and his family enjoyed many weekends at the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Their son, Ted, bought a fishing boat, which added to his father's enjoyment.

Marvin Edward Jennings, his son (right) and a friend on his son's boat; personal
collection

Marvin was rushed to Northern Virginia Doctors hospital in Arlington County, on 1 May 1961. He died seven hours later of an abdominal aorta aneurysm and was interred at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Virginia. At the time of his death, I was almost three years old. My memories of Grandpa Jennings are few. Perhaps, the only real one I have is playing the "lighter game." He would stretch out on the sofa after dinner and I would sit on his chest and search his pockets for his lighter. Why this filled me with so much glee I can still remember it, I have no idea. The lighter was always in his shirt pocket.

Marvin Edward Jennings at Beverly Beach Pavillion, Maryland; personal
collection

Like all good railroad men, Grandpa owned a pocket watch. My brother, John, used it during his summer job, driving the tractor for tobacco pickers. It was important to drive the tractor slow enough so they were always picking in front of them and he used the watch to time his speed up and down the rows. My brother, Ted, owns the watch now and we all wish we knew more about it.

My grandfather's pocket watch; photograph by Ted Jennings

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. The theme for this week was "Heirloom."

Using the Ancestral Reference Numbering System, Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr., is Ancestor number  4 on my family tree:

4.0 Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr., born 16 November 1901 in Roanoke, Virginia, to Charles Edward Jennings and second wife, Effie Beard. He was their youngest child, who lived to adulthood. His mother died when he was 5 years old and his 68-year-old father placed him in an orphanage in 1911 while his siblings were placed with other family members. He met Alice Muir in War, West Virginia, when he worked for Norfolk & Western (N&W) railroad. They married on 13 May 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois, and made their residence there. Marvin worked for the Illinois Central (IC) railroad. He lost his job during the Depression and eventually was offered a job at the General Accounting Office, in Washington, DC. They moved in 1941 and lived in Washington and Arlington County, Virginia. Marvin died on 1 May 1961 at Northern Virginia Doctors' Hospital in Arlington of abdominal aorta aneurysm and was interred at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Virginia.

4.1 Pearl Marie Jennings born 19 September 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois; died 30 December 1924 in East St. Louis.

4.2 Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr., born 23 July 1927 in East St. Louis; married Rachel Mildred Lange, daughter of Gustav Lange and Wilhelmina Schalin, on 5 April 1952 in Arlington, Virginia. She died on 16 October 2006 in South Boston, Virginia. Two children.

4.3 Charles Theodore Jennings, born 14 December 1931 in Centreville, Illinois, married Dorothy Ailein Lange, daughter Gustav Lange and Wilhelmina Schalin on 15 November 1957 in Arlington, Virginia. She died on 9 September 2014 in New Bern, North Carolina. Three children.

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[1] According to my grandmother, Marvin Jennings did not become lame from contracting measles but rather polio. One leg was shorter than the other and he wore leg braces the remainder of his life.

Sources:
1910 US Federal Census, (database and images), FamilySearch, Marvin E Jennings in household of Charles E Jennings, Roanoke Melrose Ward, Roanoke (Independent City), Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 125, sheet 8A, family 128, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982); FHL Microfilm 1375659 (accessed 12 Feb 2018)
1920 US Federal Census, (database and images), Family Search, Marvin E Jennings in household of Daniel M Jiminys, Roanoke Highland War 2, Roanoke (Independent City), Virginia, United States; citing ED 31, sheet 15B, line 64, family 335, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington: DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1912; FHL microfilm 1821912 (accessed 12 Feb 2018)
1930 US Federal Census, (database and images), FamilySearch, Marvin Jennings, East St Louis, St Clair, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 61, sheet 13A, line 35, family 397, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002) roll 557, FHL microfilm 2340292 (accessed 12 Feb 2018)
1940 US Federal Census, (database and images), FamilySearch, Marvin Jennings, Centreville Township, St Clair, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 82-35, sheet 19B, line 74, family 164, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007, RG 29, (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 879 (accessed 18 Feb 2018
Find A Grave Index, (database), FamilySearch, Marvin Edward Jennings, 1961; Burial, Falls Church, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America, National Memorial Park; citing record ID 17662909, Find a Grave, 
Draft Registration Card for Virginia, (database and images), Fold3, Marvin Edward Jennings, 16 Nov 1902, Virginia, Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II, NARA, 2012, No. 12-029 (accessed 30 Nov 2017)
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, (database), FamilySearch, Marvin Jennings in entry for Pear Marie Jennings, 30 Dec 1924; Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1493150 (access 27 Dec 2014)
Illinois, St Clair County, Marriage License, No. 11915, Marvin Edward Jennings and Alice Muir, 13 May 1924
International Order of Odd Fellows, Grand Encampment, Washington, DC, 8 Feb 1962
International Order of Odd Fellows, Mount Pleasant Rebekah Lodge No. 9, Resolutions and Memorial on the Death of Brother Marvin Jennings, 18 May 1961
International Order of Odd Fellows, Grand Encampment, Washington, DC, Official Bulletin No. 5, 1 May 1961
Jennings, Alice Muir, Genealogy Notebook, page 10
Jennings, Daniel, Letter and application to Lutheran Orphanage, Salem, Virginia, 12 Aug 1911
Lutheran Orphanage in Salem, Virginia, Tangled Roots and Trees (accessed 12 Feb 2018)
Marvin Edward Jennings (1901-1961), Robert Muir Family Blog (accessed 12 Feb 2018)
My Grandfather and the Orphanage, Tangled Roots and Trees (accessed 12 Feb 2018)
US City Directories, 1822-1995, (database with images), Ancestry, Marvin E Jennings, East St Louis, Illinois, 1926 (accessed 3 Jan 2015)
US City Directories, 1822-1995, (database with images), Ancestry, Marvin E Jennings, East St Louis, Illinois, 1928 (accessed 3 Jan 2015)
US City Directories, 1822-1995, (database with images), Ancestry, Marvin E Jennings, East St Louis, Illinois, 1930 (accessed 3 Jan 2015)
US World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1942-1947, (database), Ancestry, Marvin Edward Jennings, Arlington, Virginia, United States, National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 387 (accessed 20 Nov 2017)
Virginia Birth Records, 1864-1999, (database and images), Ancestry, Marvin Edward Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1902 (accessed 30 Jun 2016)
Virginia Death Certificate No. 106-285, Marvin E Jennings, Sr., 1961
Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, (database and images), Ancestry, Marvin E Jennings, Sr, Arlington, Arlington, VA, 1961 (accessed 30 Jun 2016)
Virginia Marriage Records, 1936-2014, (database and images), Ancestry, Marvin E Jennings in entry for Marvin Edward Jennings, Jr and Rachel Mildred Lange, 1952 (accessed 30 Jun 2016)
Virginia Marriage Records, 1936-2014, (database and images), Ancestry, Marvin E Jennings in entry for Charles Theodore Jennings and Dorothy Ailein Lange, 1957 (accessed 30 Jun 2016)

Morgan's Rifle Corps Travel North to Saratoga
Charles Edward Jennings (1843-1917): 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment
Morgan's Rifle Corps Established and the Fog of War
Charles Edward Jennings (1843-1917): First to Leave the Farm
Powhatan Perrow Jennings (1812-1858): A Life Cut Short
John W. Jennings (1776-1858): War of 1812 Veteran
Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815): Last Will and Testament
Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815): Morgan's Riflemen
Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815): Beginnings and Endings
Who Was the Original Jennings Immigrant?
Did John W. Jennings, Sr. (c1777-1858) Marry His Niece?
Discovering my Local History Center
British Surrender at Saratoga
The Great Jennens Case

Revolutionary War Soldier
There's One Born Every Minute -- Scamming the Greedy
A Forcible Act of Possession
Dicken's Bleak House Is about My Family

What Happened to Sophia, Widow of Terresha "Terry" Jewell?

A case in Virginia Circuit Superior Court and Chancery revealed Sophia Jewell was the widow of Terresha Jewell, known as Terry, often transcribed and indexed as Jerry, with three minor daughters -- Sarah Ellen, Frances Ann, and Mary Elizabeth. We know Terry Jewell died sometime before 14 May 1838 as that was the date Sophia appeared before the Kanawha County court requesting guardianship of her children who were described as the "orphan children of Terry Jewell, deceased..." Her motion was granted the same day.

Virginia Chancery case 1841-009, page 74; courtesy of the Library of Virginia

Those three little girls were my first cousins three times removed, nieces of my great great grandmother, Catherine B. (Jewell) Jennings.

Terry died when Kanawha County was still part of Virginia. Virginia did not require counties to record deaths until 1853 and West Virginia did not require statewide registration until 1917. Currently, this court case is the best evidence we have of his death until some other substitute record may be found, such as an obituary or funeral record. However, I did learn that Terry and Sophia were married in 31 March 1832 in Kanawha County by James C. Taylor. Sophia's name was listed as Sophia Ann Mahone, so I surmised that was her maiden name and her three daughters were born between 1832 and 1838.

Sophia married again to Hiram Harbour on 16 June 1839, according to the return sent to the Kanawha County clerk by Francis A. Timmous. Sophia was listed as Mrs. Sophia Juel. In 1840 Hiram was enumerated in the federal census as the head of a household comprised of seven people in Kanawha County:

1840 Household of Hiram Harber (Harbour); created with Microsoft Excel

We may assume Hiram was the male between 20-29 years of age, making the range of his birth between 1811 and 1820. Sophia was the female between 30-39 years of age. The three young girls are surely Sarah Ellen, Frances Ann and Mary Elizabeth Jewell. The mystery is the male between 10-14 years of age. Who was he?

By 1850 Hiram and his family had moved to Howard County, Missouri, and for the first time all the names of members of his household were enumerated. The mystery boy from the 1840 census was likely John Mahone, who was 23 years of age in 1850. My current theory is he was Sophia's son born out of wedlock and before her marriage to Terry Jewell. Terry's three daughters are also listed in the 1850 census as being 16, 14, and 12 years of age, respectively.

Sarah Ellen (16) and Frances Ann (14) disappeared from the records thereafter. I have not found a trace of Sarah Ellen, but believe Frances Ann died on 1 September 1851 and was interred in the Clarks Chapel Cemetery in New Franklin, Missouri.

Sophia's son John Mahone married Catherine Foster Rhoads in September 1852 in Sacramento County, California, which was my first clue the family had settled there after their sojourn in Missouri.

In 1855 Hiram was charged with assault with the intent to kill due to an incident where he shot Andrew Bates over some horses. Over the next few years he was in and out of court frequently on various matters.

By 10 March 1857 Hiram Harbour lived in Sacramento County and was placing advertisements, likely required by law, in the Sacramento Daily Union that his wife had "abandoned his bed and board" in December 1855 and he wasn't going to pay any debt she may have incurred.

One of five identical advertisements placed by Hiram Harbour in the Sacramento
Daily Union; courtesy of the California Digital Archives

An article in the same newspaper reported Hiram and Sophia were granted a divorce on 7 March 1859 in Sacramento County.

Mary Elizabeth Jewell married Benjamin H. Hereford on 13 January 1859 in Sacramento County. Benjamin was a city-county councilmen and the son of an attorney; his brother would become a U.S. Senator from West Virginia in the 1870s. They had two sons before Mary died on 27 August 1866 in Virginia City, Nevada.

In 1860 Sophia lived with Mary Elizabeth and her new husband, Benjamin, on their extensive ranch in Lee Township. A notice in the Sacremento Daily Union informed readers that Sophia died on 2 February 1862 in Virginia City, Nevada, where Mary and Benjamin had moved shortly after their second son was born in 1861.

View of Virginia City from a nearby hillside ca. 1867; courtesy Wikipedia

Virginia City was booming when the Hereford family arrived soon after the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859. It was once heralded as the most important city between Denver and San Francisco. Samuel Clemens began reporting for the city's newspaper, Territorial Enterprise, under the name Mark Twain in 1862.

NOTE: The Find A Grave memorial for Mary Elizabeth (Jewell) Hereford lists her birth year as 1839. A California mortuary and cemetery card listed her death date as 27 August 1866 and stated her age was 27 years, 3 months and 14 days, making her date of birth 14 May 1839. This cannot be true because she was listed on the request for guardianship, which was filed in Kanawha County court on 14 May 1838. I believe she was actually born in 1838.

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Discovering Henry Downs, Another 4X Great Grandfather
DNA Discoveries: Jewell Progress