Tombstone Tuesday: A Daughter's Sacrifice For Her Mother - Georgia Ann Harrison Finn (1861 - 1923)

Georgia Ann Harrison Finn

Daughter of John Milton Harrison and Mary Jane Coppedge Harrison

Wife of John R. Finn

Copyright 2015, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison, A Genie In Arizona)

Georgia was my grand-aunt.  According to oral family history passed down to me by my aunt, Lona Harrison Curtis; Georgia passed away from an apparent heat stroke while walking to go visit her mother at the St. James Soldiers' Home for invalids. Her mother, Mary Janes Coppedge Harrison (who was known simply as "Jane Harrison"), had suffered from some form of senility (possibly what we now know as Dementia/ Alzheimers today) and had been placed in the care facility then known as the Soldiers Home for Veterans and Dependents in St. James, Missouri. Previous to that, Georgia was her mother's primary caregiver. Once Jane Harrison had reached the point of needing a nursing home, Georgia walked several miles a few times per week to visit her mother there. The last time she made that walk was on a hot humid summer day in July. She never made it to her destination. 

Find A Grave Memorial # 62303110

WEDDING WEDNESDAY: Marriage Bond of William Thomas "Billy" Clark and Lucinda "Polly" Osborne

Copyright 2014, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

Above is a copy of the Marriage Bond of my ancestors William Thomas "Billy" Clark (1808- 1868) and Lucinda "Polly" Osborne (1813- 1893) . The Bond is dated 17 July 1828, in Maury County, Tennessee. They were my maternal 3x-great-grandparents.  Their son was William Calvin Clark, my 2x-great-grandfather (he married Harriet Gray). 

Billy Clark and Polly Osborne Clark moved from Tennessee to Kentucky about 1840, where they raised their family of at least 13 children. Billy's brother James Wardlow Clark married Harriet Gore (descendant of Revolutionary War Patriot Notley Gore). 

William Thomas "Billy" Clark died in 1868 in Kentucky, and is buried at Harmony United Methodist Church Cemetery in Hickman County, Kentucky.  His widow Lucinda "Polly" Osborne Clark outlived him by more than 2 decades.   It is assumed that Polly is buried Farmington, Graves County, Kentucky where she was living in her son William Calvin Clark's household when she died in 1893. 

I am their direct descendant through my mother's Crider-Allen-Clark-Osborne lineage. 

Matrilineal Monday; Our Female Ancestors' Stories: SABRA "SABY" STOGSDILL FORE

              Copyright 2014, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

Sabra Catherine Stogsdill was my 2x-great-grandmother, through my paternal grandmother Susannah Allen Harrison's Allen-Fore-Stogsdill line. Sabra's nickname was "Saby".  She was born 29 September 1822 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. She married Benjamin Fore Sr. on 1 August 1842 in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky. Her parents were Daniel Stogsdill and Sarah Hargis. She died 16 March 1912 In Phelps County, Missouri.  She is buried at the Jackson Cemetery in Phelps County.  Her Find A Grave Memorial page number is 30392163.

The above photo depicts Sabra Stogsdill Fore, center, with her daughters Mary Ann "Polly" Fore on the left and Lucretia "Creasey" Fore Kelly on the right. This image was published in a Phelps County Genealogical Society Quarterly magazine. It was provided to the Society by a descendant, possibly Garrett Gabel. 

There is a discrepancy I have noted concerning Sabra Stogsdill Fore's actual date of birth, date of death, and age at death. The headstone inscription, the Find A Grave memorial page, and the official state death records do not match (as they currently read at the time of this article). Her State of Missouri Death Certificate indicates her birth date as 29 Sept 1822; and her death date as 16 March 1912.  The Find A Grave Memorial page that someone created for her, currently gives the birth year as 1828, and the photo of the headstone posted there appears to indicate 1829 as the year of birth. The official Death Certificate indicates her age at death as 89 years, 6 months, 17 days. I am inclined to believe the Death Certificate is the more reliable source of information, as the section of the headstone monument that bears the inscription appears to be far newer than 1912 and placed some years after Sabra's death. Cause of death listed on the Death Certificate is "senility".

Sabra married at about age 19 and become a first-time mother the following year. Her first 2 children were born in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1843 and 1844. Then, she and her husband Ben Fore Sr and family moved to Phelps County, Missouri around 1845, with assorted kin and neighbors among the group migrating into Missouri.  Sabra "Saby" Stogsdill and Benjamin Fore Sr. were the parents of at least 9 children, including my great-grandmother Catherine Ellen Fore (1843- 1900) who married Valentine Allen.  Their other children included Harriet Jane Fore (1844- 1930), Benjamin "Ben" Fore Jr (about 1845 -   ), Polly Ann Fore (1847- 1915), William Harrison Fore (1848- 1916), Milford E Fore (1852- 1871), Lucretia "Creasey" Fore (1853- 1918), James Franklin Fore (1859- 1933), and Amanda "Mandy" Tebie Fore (1862- 1947).  

It is noted that Sabra and Benjamin's daughter, Lucretia, was named after Benjamin's mother Lucretia "Creasey" Umfleet, who married John Fore. 

An interesting fact about this line is that Benjamin Fore Sr's sister, Sarah Fore, married Singleton Earp, from a branch of the famed Wild West Lawman- Wyatt Earp's family. I have previously written a separate article and blog post about that family connection. So, that makes Sabra Stogsdill Fore an in-law of the Earp family, and Sabra and Benjamin's descendants are distant kin to Wyatt Earp. 

Not a lot else is known about Sabra's life, other than that she was a sturdy pioneer woman who bore a lot of children and lived to a relatively ripe old age. 

Surname Saturday: THORNTON- Margaret "Peggy" Kitchen Thornton Coppedge

Copyright 2013, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

Margaret Kitchen Thornton Coppedge, 1805- 1886

Burial  1886 Dillon Cemetery, Maries Co, Missouri Headstone Inscription: "Margaret, wife of Geo. H. Coppedge - died Oct 8, 1886, aged 81 yrs. Adieu my companion, adieu, How sadly I bid thee farewell". - Info provided by Jean Beckham in 1993. Find A Grave Memorial# 54005698

Margaret "Peggy" Kitchen Thornton was the daughter of Thomas Thornton III and Nancy Kitchen. She was my 2x-great-grandmother on the paternal side of my tree, though my father's grandmother's line. She was born about 1805 in Louden County,Virginia, and died 8 October 1886 in Maries County, Missouri.  The Thornton lineage has been traced back to Richmond, Virginia in the late 1600's and to Yorkshire, England in the early 1600's. There is still documentation work to be done to complete and verify the lineage of this direct line of Thorntons. 

Margaret was married to George Helm Coppedge. Their daughter, Mary Jane Coppedge married John Milton Harrison- these were my paternal great-grandparents. 

Margaret's direct-line paternal ancestry includes the surnames of Thornton, Peyton, Randolph, and Ryland; her maternal ancestry includes Kitchen, Harrison, Butler, Grayson, Wiggington, and Crume. Margaret's parents were Thomas Thornton III (1781- 1848) and Nancy Kitchen (1780- 1815). 

The reference book entitled "Coppage-Coppedge Family 1542-1955", on pg 81- indicates that Margaret was the "daughter of Thomas Thornton III by his 1st wife, a Miss Kitchen, sister to the 2nd wife of Thomas Thornton II".   If accurate, this means that her mother was the sister of  Elizabeth Kitchen, 2nd (or 3rd) wife of her grandfather, and that her father had married the sister of his own father's 2nd wife. 

Margaret's maternal grandparents are believed to be William H Kitchen and Nancy Anne Harrison. Nancy Anne Harrison was a descendant of Burr Harrison III, immigrant ancestor from London, England who went to Virginia about 1664 as an early settler and member of House of Burgess. He  died in Stafford, Virginia in 1706. 

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.

Obituary Sunday: Frances "Fanny" Hudgens 1811- 1879

            Copyright 2013, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

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)

Copyright 2013, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

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).

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

Copyright 2013, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

Mary Jane Coppedge Harrison 1840 - 1923 

We don't know if my paternal great-grandmother 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.

Surname Saturday: CATLETT

               Copyright 2012, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

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”.  

"Only The Men Had Babies"

 Copyright 2010, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

One of our challenges when searching for our female ancestors, especially in the American frontier days and prior, is that we often find the records appear only under her married name as an adult, and under her father's household name in census records as a child. She was often considered a mere extension of her father and then her husband, with no identity of her own...treated in the records more like property to be enumerated along with household/ farm belongings, than as a unique individual who was a mother and matriarch of a family line. Unless she kept a journal which still survives today and we are lucky enough to find it, we are apt to learn little about her daily life and the events that affected her. One of my focuses in working on updating my own family tree, is to strive to include more biographical information on the women in my tree, especially my direct female ancestors. It is through researching my female ancestors and their family histories, that I have discovered my eligibility to join various descendants' patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War; as well as a society for descendants of outlaws, pirates, and privateers. These women, and their ancestry, are what makes my family tree as colorful as it is.

I came across this poem recently. It was published in the Phelps County (MO) Genealogical Society's Quarterly magazine dated April 1993.

"ONLY THE MEN HAD BABIES"
"by Dr. Dorothy Branson"

"My ancestor William had children.
All named, with birth and places,
But his wife is not even mentioned;
Of her, there are not even traces.

Surely she must have existed,
Was born, was a child, and had dreams,
Grew up and learned how to keep house,
Was a PERSON- but nameless, it seems.

She had parents, and someplace, a home,
Her brothers are listed, no doubt.
But she was only a girl,
So not really worth telling about.

She was half of my ancestor's heritage;
Without her he wouldn't have life.
His genes are half of hers, but I find
She was only his father's wife.

Once a girl was first 'dau', then was 'wife'.
She belonged to her father till married,
And then She belonged to her husband,
And beside him, unnamed, she was buried.

How awful to think MY descendants
Might search for a name for me,
Be unable to find my identity,
And wonder just who I might be."


"Note: Recorded in PCGS Quarterly April 2003 by Barbara Smith Pugh, previously appeared in publications of the Champaign County Genealogical Society (Fall 1991), and the Henry County Genealogical Society, as well as the Dawson County (Mont.) Historical and Genealogical Society. "