Sentimental Sunday: In Memory of Susannah Allen Harrison, My Paternal Grandmother

Copyright 2015, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

Susannah "Susan" Allen Harrison

1875 - 1933

Wife of John P. Harrison

Mother of Marvin M. Harrison

My Paternal Grandmother

A Video Memorial, Scenes From Her Lifetime

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

Remembering Augusta Nadine Crider Harrison 

17 June 1920 - 8 September 1970

We Contine To Live Beyond The Dawn

And In The Hearts Of Those Who Love Us

The following paragraph is from the Find A Grave Memorial that I previously created for her on that website.   ( Find  Grave memorial # 49840165 at www.findagrave.com)

Augusta Nadine Crider Harrison Taylor was the daughter of Steven Linn Crider and Ida Mae Allen Crider. She married Marvin Milton Harrison on Sept 7, 1939 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. They met when Marvin was working on construction of the Dam at Lake Wappapello. They had three children: Michael, John David, and Beverly Harrison. Augusta and Marvin lived in Pineville, Louisiana for several years while raising their young children, while Marvin worked for the railroad there. They bought a little house on a creek in what was then a rural area. Augusta and Marvin later relocated to Long Beach, California where Marvin worked in the aircraft industry with Hughes Aircraft and later Johns Manville Corp. Augusta's occupation during those years was as housewife and mother. Those were years of economic turmoil and much personal strife, which took it's toll on the marriage of Augusta and Marvin. They were divorced circa 1956, in Long Beach, California. Augusta returned to her hometown of Poplar Bluff, Missouri; where she re-remarried to Leonard Taylor in 1961. Mr Taylor was a veteran who died in 1968; and is also buried at City Cemetery in Poplar Bluff. Augusta spent her final years as a widow in Poplar Bluff, MO. She passed at the relatively young age of only 50. Augusta, may you rest in eternal peace forever in the Lord's loving embrace.

A Memorial Grove of Trees has been planted in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California by their daughter, as a living tribute in memory of Augusta and Marvin Harrison. 

Burial: 
Poplar Bluff City Cemetery 
Poplar Bluff
Butler County
Missouri, USA
Plot: Sunnyslope Section, Space 1, Lot 15, Block E 

Sentimental Sunday: An Early Mother's Day Video Memorial- Augusta Crider Harrison (1920 - 1970)

Workday Wednesday: IDA MAE ALLEN CRIDER's letter seeking her birth certificate yields family history - 1943

Copyright 2015, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist

(B. Harrison)

I have taken a long hiatus from writing in this Blog to enjoy some time doing other things, including travel...and additional research on my ancestral lines.  Now, I'm back to share more info about some of my ancestors.

Looking through daily blogging prompts from Geneabloggers.com for ideas to get myself back into the blogging-writing mode, I came across the prompt for "Workday Wednesday" and decided to share this letter written in 1943 by my maternal grandmother, Ida Mae Allen Crider, addressed to the "Dept of Confederate Pensions" in Frankfort, Kentucky.  She was trying to obtain documentation of her own birth from the Widow's Pension file of her mother (Lucy "Fannie" Clark Allen), in order to obtain a birth certificate or proof of birth from the state of Tennessee, (where she says she was born), which she needed to obtain "some useful employment".  She was age 53 at the time, living in Poplar Bluff, Butler County, Missouri with her husband (my maternal grandfather) Stephen Linn Crider, 17 years her senior at age 70.

The letter is a genealogy goldmine of information.  Along with the details mentioned above, the letter contains her father's full name ("the late Thomas C. Allen") and her mother's name ("Lucy F. Clark Allen"); along with confirmation of her father's service in the Confederate States Army, Company I, Regiment 12, Kentucky Cavalry. (Interesting to note she used the word "calvary instead of "cavalry"; a common mistake). It also confirms the existence of her mother's Confederate Widow's Pension Application filed with the state of Kentucky, where her father had served.  The letter confirms that Ida Mae was born in the state of Tennessee, although her later death certificate information in 1968 as reported by her daughter-in-law says she was born in Fulton, Kentucky in 1890.  This discrepancy, and the fact that Ida herself stated she was born in Tennessee, prompts me to search Tennessee records further for information on her parents' lives circa 1890.

I have had a copy of this letter for quite some time, and had posted it in my trees as a scanned media attachment, but looking at it again to write this Blog post opened my eyes to that new piece of information that I had previously overlooked. I had been looking in Kentucky for information on her parents' lives circa 1890 and coming up empty. So, either they came to Kentucky later than I had thought, or there is a discrepancy in Ida's birth date and location to be further investigated. It is possible Ida was 10 years older than her stated age.

Below is a photo of my maternal grandparents Ida Mae Allen Crider and Stephen Linn Crider taken circa 1935-1940 in Missouri. 

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. 

Family Recipe Friday- Scalloped Potatoes and Holiday Meal Traditions

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

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, thoughts turn to the traditional holiday feast.   There is comfort in enjoying favorite family recipes at holiday time, evoking warm memories of holidays past and the people connected with those recipes. 

When I was growing up, my parents typically hosted pot-luck family gatherings at our family home in Orange County, California;  where the extended clan and assorted friends who lived in our area of Southern California would gather at our house.  My parents would usually provide the turkey and ham main courses, rolls, one or two side dishes, tea, coffee, and soda; while everyone else would bring an appetizer and a side dish or dessert to share.  Kids would be running around noisily everywhere, chasing and playing games, while the grownups would gather into two groups- the men in the living room gathered around the tv watching football; the women alternately busily fussing in the kitchen or drinking coffee around the kitchen table as dishes baked in the oven. 

As my parents aged and my siblings and I grew up and married, starting families of our own, these holiday gatherings gradually shifted from my parents' home to one of the adult children's homes.  And so this pattern continued within our own families, as it has for many others.   Today our society is so mobile that families are scattered far and wide, from coast to coast, as ours is now.  These large clan gatherings just aren't as feasible anymore.  Everyone is busy with their own lives in different states; working, going to school, pursuing outside interests, juggling different schedules; as in mine and my husband's extended families, and we rarely all can gather together anymore in one location even at holiday time. 

Since we are now empty-nester retirees, my husband and I often choose to take a vacation over the holidays and enjoy a non-traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas, free from all the hustle and bustle.  We may visit with relatives before or after the holiday, but often just enjoy "escaping" for the actual event. Sometimes we got to a beach resort in Mexico, other times we may go to Las Vegas or Laughlin, or take a cruise.  We still have family in California, mostly on my husband's side now,  and sometimes go there for the holidays.   Sometimes we just stay home to avoid inclement weather and travel hassles of holiday-traffic snarls and jammed airports.  I usually say, every year, that I am not going to bother putting up a tree or any lights or decorations this year.   I say that every year, and yet I always end up doing the tree and decorations anyway, and I do still enjoy it. 

Whether we are eating out for the holidays, or on a non-traditional vacation somewhere, or at a relative's home, or just staying home; it is a time of year that  I do still enjoy cooking a few traditional dishes myself, even for just the two of us; decorating the house a little, and getting into the festive spirit of the season. I do not and never have enjoyed hosting big gatherings or company for dinners myself at our home, and all of the work involved, so I rarely do that and prefer the "let's eat out" option if it involves entertaining guests.  I leave the big feast holiday cooking and fussing to others who do enjoy doing it, and the younger generations who have the energy for it. My ideal Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner these days is on a cruise ship, traveling to someplace warm with tropical breezes, and with fruity-tooty froo-froo drinks on the side with little umbrellas in them.   Holiday joy!

Still, I like to have the traditional foods for us at home also during the holiday season.  Aside from the traditional ham and turkey, there are side dishes that have always found their way into our holiday meals, year after year since I was a kid.  These are probably the same dishes that many others look forward to, and there is comfort in this tradition of familiar foods:   Deviled eggs, green bean casserole, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, fresh-baked rolls. One dish that never failed to grace the holiday table when I was growing up was that of home-made scalloped potatoes.  I must admit, I am not one for a lot of cooking-from-scratch these days.   There are good quality frozen prepared versions that suffice, with a lot less work involved, they just need to be popped into the oven or microwave.   But, if the mood strikes...I have been known to peel some potatoes and do a baking dish full of the homemade version. Here is a link to a good recipe, from the website "Taste of Home", for scalloped potatoes either plain or incorporating leftover ham from the holiday meal. This is very much like the traditional family recipe version I grew up with. Double or triple this recipe for a larger gathering.


www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/scalloped-potatoes-with-ham

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour 20 min.

MAKES: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 6 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes
• 1-1/2 cups chopped fully cooked Boneless Carving Ham
• 1 small onion, grated

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour, parsley, salt, thyme and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
2. Combine potatoes, ham and onion; place half in a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Top with half of the sauce; repeat layers.
3. Cover and bake at 375° for 65-75 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Dot with remaining butter. Bake, uncovered, 15-20 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Yield: 4 servings.

November 2013- Being Thankful, and Looking Forward

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

I seem to have taken a few months hiatus from writing in this blog, or else posts I did write have disappeared.    Nevertheless, I am back.  We approach the holiday season of yet another year's end.  November is traditionally a time when we focus on what it is we have to be thankful for.  Facebook friends have been posting their daily "I am thankful for....." status updates.   I too, have much to be thankful for, and try to remind myself to focus on the positives and not let the irritating negatives get out of proportion.   Looking back, I cannot say that 2013  has been a spectacularly great year on a personal or economic level or for this country, but it has not been a horrid one either. Some horrid things did happen in this county and in the world in 2013, it is true....some were natural disasters, some were man-made tragedies.  These types of things do happen, it seems, every year, that affect us deeply; much as our ancestors were affected by tragedies beyond their control in their own time.  It is part of the human existence.   Loved ones are lost, babies are born, and life goes on.  Things are looking up, and I am optimistic that 2014 will bring further recovery of the U.S. economy and to the region where I live in particular, with new growth and construction once again taking place.   I will refrain from overtly-political comments since this is primarily a Genealogy blog, but will say that I believe the current administration in the White House has made some positive changes that will benefit all Americans in the long term.

Back to the subject of Genealogy:  There is a new ongoing genealogy project among my Facebook group of genealogy associates, that I intend to begin working on soon; along with many among my genea-friends who are also participating.   It is called "The Book of Me, Written by You"....the brainchild of genealogist Julie Goucher. It is intended to be a series of prompts to help genealogists and journalists everywhere take the time to sit down and write their own life stories.   We spend so much time delving into the life stories of our ancestors, to document those as much as we can for posterity, that we tend to forget that each of us has our own story to tell.  Each of us will eventually become "the ancestor" that future generations of descendants and kin will be curious about.    Who better to tell our own stories, than ourselves?   And so, I encourage each and every one who may read this Blog post, to journal about yourself.    Whether in a paper notebook, pen to paper the old-school way, or typing it into an online Blog or private journal, or recording your voice telling your story....just do it.  Record and share your life stories and experiences, before they are lost forever.  No one knows the facts and nuances, trials and tribulations, tragedies and triumhs of what really happened along your pathway in life, better than yourself.  I may be sharing the "Book of Me" prompts in future Blog posts, along with some of my responses. I have a lot of catching up to do on that project!

My hopes for the coming year include enjoying my new early-retirement status, and hopefully being able to do a little more traveling.    One or two genealogy-research trips are on the tentative agenda, including a big genealogy conference in Richmond, Virginia in 2014 that I "hope" to be able to attend.  I have a great deal of ancestry in Virginia going back many generations to colonial America, and in the Richmond area in particular. I'm greatly looking forward to that adventure. More time for socializing with friends locally is also on the agenda.  Much work remains to be done on my family tree, and more time devoted to this Blog as well.  Perhaps I will finally make that long-dreamed of genealogy trip back to Missouri to visit my roots there as well, and meet distant-cousins that I have connected with over the past few years who share my interest in genealogy and our family history. So, here is my toast to a happy and thankful Thanksgiving season, followed by a spirited Christmas and Hanukkah season, and finally to a most welcome New Year in 2014!

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.

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.

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas!

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


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

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

Here are the lyrics to this favorite Christmas Carol:

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

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

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

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

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”.  

Advent Christmas Calendar- Remembering Christmases Past: Christmas Stockings, And Other Things

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

Today's blogging prompt on genealogist and geneablogger Thomas MacEntee's Advent Christmas Calendar blog, is to share our memories involving the tradition of Christmas Stockings.

"Did you have one? Where did you hang it? What did you get in it?"

I do have a special memory involving Christmas stockings, but it was not from my childhood. I will get to that later. The house I grew up in, in Southern California, did not have a fireplace. Like many of the modest one-level tract homes in the neighborhood where I grew up, we had a kitchen, a big dining room area that doubled as the "family room", a living room, 3 bedrooms, and one bathroom...shared by 5 people. We had no fireplace, no mantel. None of the then-newish homes in our tract had fireplaces. Ours was a working-class neighborhood, and the homes were built with just the necessities. Californians did not need a fireplace back in those days, it was thought. Today most of the newer homes do have them, but they are mostly for ambiance. Thus, back then...I do not remember having stockings as part of our tradition when I was a youngster. That tradition would come later.

Harrison family home in Westminster, CA circa 1960

We put up a brightly decorated tree every year, of course....using many of the same ornaments year after year. I wish that I still had some of those ornaments, which would be family heirlooms today. I still remember the delicate opaque glass bulbs with "Silent Night" etched on them, along with the outlines of a church and steeple covered in snow. We got those at Sears Roebuck. I loved those ornaments then, and would love to have even just one of them now. I was not thinking of preserving family heirlooms back in those days, however. I don't know what happened to them once our parents were gone. Lost in the shuffle.

 

 Vintage Silent Night Ornament from 1960s era - from Pinterest

Though we didn't have a real fireplace, I do recall that later on, those little portable folding cardboard fake "fireplaces" became popular, along with fake tinsel trees. For a couple of years we did use one of those cardboard fireplaces, which had a single plug-in light bulb that gave off a very phony-looking flickering glow that was supposed to look like a flame. I have noticed that another blogger has shared this same memory, so I guess those little folding "fireplaces" were a popular fad. We used ours until it started falling apart after a couple of seasons, and would no longer stand on it's own. I think we might have taped decorative stockings to it one year, with nothing in them since the thing would not support much weight. 

(Vintage cardboard fireplace circa 1960s era- image from Pinterest)

That was probably the same year we had the shiny aluminum-foil looking fake tinsel tree, which is my child-eyes was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. That tree shimmered with the lights on it like none other. I thought it was just beautiful, then. My brother Dave and I would lay under that tree at night, before Santa had brought any presents to be placed under the tree, and we would gaze up at all the amazing sparkling colors of the lights reflecting off that shiny tinsel tree. Funny how such simple things used to amuse and fascinate kids back in those days, isn't it? That was long before video games, desktop computers, and all the electronic toys and gadgetry of today. Long before Facebook, of course. And it was "only" the late 1950- early 1960's....not THAT long ago....and yet, it seems like light years ago. And it was decades ago. How did that happen? The years seem to have flown by now, looking back.

 (Images of silver tinsel trees similar to those my family had in the 1960s- found on Pinterest)

The Christmas Stockings tradition would start later in our family, when we three kids grew up, married, and started having kids of our own. By then, Californians had discovered that they did indeed "need" fireplaces after all, apparently...because it became pretty common for most houses to be built with them starting in the seventies. Suddenly we all "HAD to" have a fireplace in any home we lived in...how did we ever survive up to that point living in a house with no fireplace? Of course our kids HAD to have Stockings hanging from the mantel every year, and even the family pets get their own stockings now. And so, we instilled the Stockings ritual in our kids that we had missed out on growing up.

Vintage Pet Stockings, image from Pinterest

It really was not until many years later though, that I realized just how much the Stocking Tradition meant to my brother Dave. By the time he had grandchildren, it became his personal tradition to make stocking bags for every person who would be spending Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in his home, which was often quite an assortment of people. He would typically invite assorted relatives, friends, and neighbors over to participate in the Stocking tradition. Frequently, guests receiving a stocking would include any friend or acquaintance who had no place else to go to celebrate the holidays.....all were welcomed, and all received a stocking. These stockings were stuffed with assorted goodies; mostly candy, cookies, nuts, and an assortment of gadgets and trinkets from the Dollar Store. My brother especially liked putting little Dollar Store "toys" like puzzles and spinning tops, jacks and pickup-stix, into the stockings of adults and kids alike. He painstakingly wrapped each and every one of these items by hand, individually, to be placed in every stocking. He wrapped each item so that nobody could "peek" ahead of time, wound tightly with loads of tape and paper. He was reliving his own childhood days, when "peeking" into his own presents was his specialty. He took great glee at the reactions of all of the adults, opening his "stupid little stocking stuffers". These Stockings were usually the hit of every Christmas Eve gathering at his home. We all loved the laughter and giggles that filled the room as people opened their intricately wrapped little surprises in their stockings.

Sadly, my brother passed away a year ago this December. At his memorial service last year, one of the guests got up and spoke of how he had been touched to receive one of those special Stockings from my brother one year. That was the year that this friend had separated from his wife, and felt like he had no place to go to spend Christmas. My brother welcomed him with open arms, and presented him with a Stocking stuffed with these little goodies, much to the friend's surprise. It was such a small thing, and yet it meant so much to the friend. At the memorial, the friend spoke of how much that small act of kindness had touched him, and how he had cherished the memory of that simple gesture of friendship and tradition all the following years. He said he still had one of the little stocking-stuffer spinning tops, all those years later, that he kept in his desk drawer; and that it would be a lasting momento and reminder for him not only of his friend, my brother...but of the true spirit of Christmas, the sharing of friendship and a simple act of kindness.

Now, whenever I see Christmas stockings, I always remember with a smile and a chuckle those Stockings filled by my brother with lots of stupid little stocking stuffers, the love that they were presented with, and how much joy he got from sharing this tradtion with others.

"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. "