Who Would You Invite to Dinner? (#4 of 52)

This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks." This week's theme is: 
INVITE TO DINNER.

My great, great grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward, was born 27 November 1860 in Perry County, Tennessee, with the Civil War just months from starting. She lived until 21 August 1960, about 3 months short of her 100th birthday. Over almost 100 years, she saw and experienced an incredible amount of change, both in the world and in her family.

Sisters Mary (Dickson) Dickson Sutton, Julia (Dickson) Dickson, and
Sallie (Dickson) Ward in Perry County, Tennessee. Photo was hanging on
Perry County courthouse wall when I visited in 1999.

What an experience it would be if I could invite "Grandma Sallie" to dinner. Among many others, here are five topics I'd love to discuss with her.

HUSBAND

Your husband was a Methodist circuit rider preacher who also appears to have had a drinking problem, was likely murdered at the age of 47, and left a bankrupt estate. What was Reuben Ward like? How did you meet him? Did you love him? Did you argue with him over his drinking? What was it like as you searched for him for weeks and then discovered he had been killed? How did you raise your family after his death?

Headstone of Matthew and Lenora "Nora" (Dickson) Ward
in Perry County, Tennessee taken by me in 1999

RAISING A GRANDCHILD

Your daughter, Nora, died at the age of 30 only six months after giving birth to my grandmother, Evelyn. You raised Nora while Nora's widowed husband, James B Dickson, raised the four older children. How did you get through the grief of losing your daughter so young? How was this decision made? Did you and Evelyn often see Evelyn's siblings? 

SLAVERY

You were born in Tennessee where slavery was legal, yet slavery was abolished probably by the time you started school. What did you know about slavery? In Perry County, Tennessee, how did former slaves and former slave owners interact? Did you hear stories about how slaves had been treated by your family members or others in your community?

CIVIL WAR

You were quite young, but do you remember any stories from the Civil War? Did you listen to men who had fought in the war and hear their stories? Did you listen to the women who had stayed behind during the war and hear their stories? How did the war affect your family?

INVENTIONS

The world changed incredibly during your lifetime. You grew up with horses and buggies, outhouses, candles, slow communication, and the death of many babies and their mothers through childbirth. Throughout your years, you saw the inventions of cars, planes, indoor plumbing, electric lights, radio, television, immunizations, pain killers, and more. Which invention affected your life the most?

Grandmother as a Little Girl (#2 of 52)

This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge. This week's theme is: FAVORITE PHOTO.

My grandmother, Evelyn, the youngest of five children, was born 10 October 1915. Sadly, when she was only 8 1/2 months old, her mother died. Although Evelyn's father raised the four oldest children, Evelyn was raised by her maternal grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward. Evelyn grew up near family, including her father and siblings, in Perry County, Tennessee.

Photo likely taken in Perry Co., Tenn. in ~1918
Elsie Ward (~15), Sallie (Dickson) Ward (~58), Evelyn Dickson (~2), and Ethel (Ward) Pollock (~24)

This is one of my favorite photos as it is the only known childhood photo of my grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Keachle (1915-2004). Wearing a bow and a dress, Little Evelyn is looking down at a pet chicken she is holding. Behind her, with her hands resting on Evelyn's shoulders, is Evelyn's grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward, who raised little Evelyn after the death of her mom.

Photo retouched by JRS (my father)

On the left side of the photo is Elise Jo Ward (1903-1989) who is Evelyn's first cousin/Sallie's granddaughter through Sallie's son, Joe. On the right is Sallie's youngest daughter, Ethel Ward (1893-1987).

I often learn more about a family or situation as I write a blog post. In this case, I did not know when Ethel had died. But, as I did research for this article, I located her death certificate. Now I know that Ethel died at the age of 95 of cardiac arrest in a nursing center in Daviess County, Indiana.

Tip: Finding a Newspaper Article That Is Not Online

If you know of a newspaper clipping but can't find it online, maybe it hasn't been digitized. If so, a great place to find out what repositories have copies of it is at the Chronicling America site.

I've been working on my Dickson family of Tennessee. A 1998 post on RootsWeb by David Walker mentioned an 1846 legal notice. The notice is in regards to the estate of my 4th great grandfather, James Dixon [or Dickson], and also mentions his son, my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Dixon/Dickson. But, I could not find this article on any of the digital newspaper sites. So, I followed these steps:

Step 1: Go to Chronicling America to see who carries this paper. To do this, go to their site and click on "US Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present." Enter the known information. I entered "Tennessee" and "Academist," which was the name of the newspaper mentioned on RootsWeb. The results showed just one newspaper which was published in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee in 1846.

Step 2: Click on the link to that newspaper and then click on "Libraries that Have It" in the blue strip near the top. The short-lived Academist has copies in five locations.

Step 3: Find the correct date. I know from the RootsWeb post that I am looking for the paper December 2nd, 1846. Since the dating system is a little bit confusing, I'm including two examples.

Chronicling America screenshot showing dates available for the Academist newspaper
at Duke University Library

Example 1: The above example shows Duke University Library's holdings for the Academist. Under dates, it states: <1846:3:18-12:2>  This means they hold all of the published newspapers between the dates of March 18th and December 2nd of 1846. Also, note that these are available as "original" copies, so they are not microfilmed images. Duke would be one place I could find my article.

Chronicling America screenshot showing dates available for the Academist newspaper
at the Tennessee State Library& Archives

Example 2: This second example shows Tennessee States Library & Archives' holdings for the Academist. First of all note that these are available in microfilm format which is different than what Duke holds. The Archives holds the following dates: <1846:3:18, 4:1-5:27, 6:10-7:1,15-9:9, 10:28- 11:4, 12:2> This means they have the following copies from 1846, the only year this newspaper was published: March 18th, April 1st through May 27th, June 10th through July 1st, July 15th through September 9th, October 28th through November 4th, and December 2nd. Since I need December 2nd, this is also a place I could find my article.

Step 4: If none of the locations are nearby, your final step is to contact one of the repositories, or hire a researcher, and have them look up the article. For my article, I chose to contact the Tennessee State Library & Archives. I talked to the reference librarian who first verified they had the paper and date I needed. Then he told me how to send $10, the out-of-state fee, for the clipping. I am now in the process of waiting 4 to 6 business days to receive an emailed clipping of this legal notice! I am hoping it has other helpful information, and I'll be sure to post about it when I receive it.

Married in a Buggy

While researching my great, great grandfather, Reuben Houston Ward (aka Rev. R. H. Ward), I came across this short, sweet newspaper article today:

LINDEN, Sept. 22.-(Special.)- James W. Lewis, Circuit Court Clerk, and Miss Dickson were married by Rev. R. H. Ward at his residence on March Creek Sunday afternoon. The couple came to his residence in a buggy, and stopping under the cool shade of a beech tree they called for the minister. He went out and while seated in the buggy they were united in the bonds of humanity. The newly married couple started at once for Linden.

Lewis-Dickson Marriage, The Tennessean, Nashville, Tennessee, 23 Sep 1897, page 5, column 3,
digital image, newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 July 2016).

"Miss Dickson" was Minnie Jane Dickson (1869-1962) who was also my 1st cousin, 3 times removed. Her father, Jacob Tipton Dickson (1843-1931) was the son of my 3rd great grandfather, William Kennedy/Canady ("W. K.") Dickson (~1811-possibly late 1860s).

Wouldn't you love to find a marriage article like that about your ancestors?

A Life of Almost 100 Years: Sallie (Dickson) Ward (Fearless Females Day 1)

As part of Women's History Month, Lisa Alzo has created 31 blogging prompts which you can find on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist. If you're participating in the Fearless Females blogging challenge this month, let me know & I'll hop over & read your posts!

March 1st prompt: Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key fact you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check.

Sallie (~ age 58) is in the middle of the back row. My grandmother, Evelyn (~ age 3) is the little girl holding her pet chicken. On the left is Elsie Jo Ward (~ age 14), also holding a chicken, who is another of Sallie's granddaughters. On the right is Ethel Ward (~age 25), who is one of Sallie's daughters. (Photo from my grandmother's collection.)

My grandmother's grandmother, Sallie Harriett (Ward) Dickson is one of my favorite female ancestors. Why? Partly because she raised my grandmother, so I feel a closer connection to her then to other ancestors who were born in the mid-1800s. And, partly because of all she lived through during her almost 100 years... from the Civil War to both world wars... from the invention of cars and planes to the invention of electricity and movies... what an incredible world she lived in!

Her Story

Sallie, born November 27th, 1860 in Perry County, Tennessee, was the youngest of 9 children born to Matthew James Dickson (1820-1904) and Lenora "Nora" J Mays (1823-1909). At the age of 19, she married Reuben Houston Ward, a farmer who later became a Methodist minister. They had 9 children together, and one died as an infant. Reuben was murdered in 1906 at the age of 47 - I told his story here.

When Sallie's husband died, her 5 youngest children were ages 18, 15, 13, 10, & 7. A few years later, in the 1910 census, she was listed as a farmer. She must have worked hard raising this family without her husband!

One of Sallie's daughters, Lenora or Nora, married her cousin, James Bedford Dickson. They had five children, including my grandmother. My grandmother was only 9 months old when her mother, Nora, died. The father, James, raised the four older children. But, he probably didn't feel capable of raising a baby. That job went to his mother-in-law, Sallie, who was 55 years old. Sallie was the only "mother" my grandmother remembered.

Sallie H. (Dickson) Ward (Photo from my grandmother's collection)

Sallie raised not only her own children, but also my grandmother, and lived as a widow for more than 50 years. She died in 1960, just 3 months short of 100 years of age. She'd lived in the Perry County, Tennessee, surrounded by family and friends, her entire life. 

Research Plan:

• Locate her in the 1940 census - still searching!
• Find an obituary
• See if 1960 death records will be available in a year or two (currently available until 1958)

Who Was Sarah "Sally" McCage's Father?

Sarah E. McCage (~1812-1860), who married William Kennedy Dickson (1811-probably 1860's), was born in Tennessee and lived in Perry County, Tennessee by 1840 (if not before). I'd seen her maiden name, McCage, on other researcher's trees, but last year is the first time I found it on a document. One of her children, Jacob Tipton Dickson, had written his mother's name as Sarah McCage on a Civil War Questionnaire in 1920.

Jacob Tipton's Civil War Questionnaire (Question #8 lists "Maiden name in full of your mother: Salley McCage.
She was the daughter of "dont know" and his wife "dont know."

I've been looking through Fold3.com's War of 1812 Pension Files lately. (The are currently posted through the letter M, and I'm "patiently" waiting for the W's for Whitwell.) Today, I came across a Samuel McCage from Tennessee who looked like a possible father or uncle for Sarah. Samuel was from Humphreys County, Tennessee which is adjacent to Perry County, Tennessee.

I found Samuel's Find-A-Grave memorial and a researcher lists Samuel's children, which did not include my Samuel. It did, however, say that Samuel McCage lived in Perry County, Tennessee until the late 1840's! But, her birth of May 1811 to April 1812 does not fit nicely with Samuel's marriage date of March 29th, 1812.

Could Samuel McCage possibly be Sarah's uncle? And, there's still a chance Samuel is her father.

I had never found Sarah and her husband, William Kennedy Dickson, on the 1840 census... until recently. I looked for Samuel McCage in the 1840 census in Perry County, Tennessee. I found him, and just 3 names down was Kennedy Dickson with his wife and three young children.

Since Sarah was born in 1811 or 1812, we are looking for a possible father who was born between 1780 to 1790. Perry County is a burned county, so I'm still looking for Sarah's elusive parents. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment with a way to contact you or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

Ancestor Fought in Creek Indian Wars: Pension File Discovered in War of 1812 Records

As you probably know, the War of 1812 Pension Files are free on Fold3 and they continue to add more names each month. I'm "patiently" waiting for the Ws for my direct ancestor, Thomas B. Whitwell. But, in the meantime, I was scrolling through the names in Tennessee where my grandmother's maternal family lived.

Under the letter D, I came across the fairly common surname, Dickson, which was my grandmother's maiden name. As I clicked on each of these men, one name stood out to me: Joseph Dickson. I have four Joseph Dickson's on my tree. Two were born after the War of 1812, but one was born in 1772 and another was born in 1795 (though I figured he was probably too young). The Joseph in the Pension File was from Linden, Perry County, Tennessee which is where "all" of my grandmother's family lived.

The pension file includes 37 pages and never mentions his wife or family members. But, three different papers indicate his birth year. The first is image #29 which is dated 7 May 1855 where Joseph says he is "aged fifty nine years." The second letter is on image #32 and is dated 09 Dec 1852 and Joseph says he is "57" years old. Third dated 29 May 1871 saying "75 years" old. All of these ages match my Joseph Dickson, born on December 1st, 1795, exactly.

Joseph Dickson (1795-1898) was my fourth great-grandfather, and this pension file was the first piece of evidence I'd ever seen that he fought in any war.

So, what did I discover in Joseph Dickson's pension file?

Joseph Dickson's Pension File (image from Fold3)

• Joseph received two pieces of Bounty Land: 40 acres in 1850 (claim #93350) & 120 acres in 1855 (claim #57224) - this is something I need to look into further! (Image #1 on Fold3)
• He enlisted on Jan 28th, 1814 & discharged on May 23, 1814 in Tennessee Militia under Captains Michael Moulton & Joseph Williams (Image #1)
• Mentions the "Creek War" (Image #4)
• Lists length of service as 116 days (Image #7)
• Discusses that, besides actual fighting days, he was also paid for 200 miles "travel allowance" (Images #9 & #10)
• States "Joseph Dickson aged 59 years a resident of Perry County in the state of Tennessee who being duly sworn according to law declares that he is the identical Joseph Dickson who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Joseph Williams in the regiment of mounted riflemen commanded by Colonel Michael Molton in the War with Great Britain declared by the United States on the 18th day of June 1812 (with the Creek Indians) for the term of three months and continued in actual service in said war for fourteen days, that he has heretofore made application for bounty land under the Act of September 28th 1850 and received a land warrant No------- not reccolected (?) for forty acres which he has since legally disposed of and cannot now return.   [paragraph] He makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the additional bounty land to which he may be entitled under the act approved 3rd day of March 1855. [paragraph] He also declares that he has never applied nor received under this nor any other act of Congress any Bounty Land warrant except the one above mentioned. [signed] Joseph Dickson (Image #29)
• States "... that he volunteered at Dickson [County] on the [blank] day of January 1814 for term of 3 months and continued in actual service for the term of 3 1/2 months and was honorably discharged at Camp Blount on the 10th day of May 1814 as will appear by reference to certificate of discharge herewith filed - and by the muster rolls of said company (Image #32)

• Includes Joseph's actual discharge papers! (Image #35)
• A fill-in-the-blank form dated May 29th, 1871 says he is "not" married & all information about a wife is crossed out. Joseph's wife died in 1867, but this is still puzzling as it is asking about who his wife's name "was"... (Image #36)

From this information, I looked at the Tennessee Secretary of State site at "Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812" and was able to determine that Joseph Dickson served under Colonel Robert Dyer in the Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Cavalry. One of the Captains of the regiment was Michael Molton who Joseph stated he served under (though he listed him as a colonel). Molton also signed Joseph Dickson's discharge papers.

The brief history of this regiment (at the above site) states that it was "part of General John Coffee's cavalry brigade throughout most of the Creek War. The unit participated in most of the battles of the war, including... Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814). There were several companies of "spies" in the regiment: companies of cavalry that were sent on reconnaissance patrols and usually took the lead in the line of march for Jackson's army."

Battle of Horseshoe Bend (public domain image from Wikipedia)

A great synopsis of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend is at Access Genealogy: "The Creek Indians, who had been allies of the British during the War of 1812, were angered by white encroachment on their hunting grounds in Georgia and Alabama. In 1813, some Creeks under Chief Red Eagle (William Weatherford) (1780-1824) attacked and burned Fort Mims on the lower Alabama River, killing about 500 whites [the Fort Mims Massacre]. Afterward, US militiamen, led by General Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), invaded Creek territory in central Alabama and destroyed two Indian villages, Talledega and Tallasahatchee, in the fall of 1813. Jackson pursued the Creek, and on March 27, 1814, his 3,000 man army attacked and defeated them at that Battle of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River in eastern Alabama. More than 800 Creek warriors were killed, and the power of the Creek nation was completely broken. At the Treaty of Fort Jackson on August 9, 1814, the Creek were compelled to cede 23 million acres (half of Alabama and part of southern Georgia) to the whites. It is sometimes considered to be part of the War of 1812."

Grandma's Old Family Photos

After writing about my Grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle, this past weekend, I decided to share some of her old family photos. The photos were probably all taken in Perry County, Tennessee where my grandmother grew up.

This is a photo of Sallie (Dickson) Ward, my grandmother's grandmother. My grandmother was raised by Sallie since her own mother, Nora (Ward) Dickson, died when she was only 8 months old. Sallie lived to be 99 years old and lived her entire life in Perry County,Tennessee.

This photo was labeled "Sallie & Mary." Sallie is Sallie (Dickson) Ward who is also pictured above. This "Mary" is almost certainly Sallie's older sister, Mary Elizabeth (Dickson) (Sutton) Dickson. She was born in 1849, about 11 years before Sallie's birth. Mary lived to be 87 and died in 1939. So, this photo was probably taken in the 1930's.

My grandmother told me this was a photo of "Mary Ary, Tom Ward's daughter." Tom Ward is one of Sallie's sons. He did have a daughter named Mary, who would've been about a year older than my grandmother. So, it is likely these first cousins grew up as close friends in Perry County. However, I don't have any information on Mary Ward after the 1930 census when she was 15 years old. 

The only Mary Ary in Perry County has been attributed to other parents by researchers. There is also a Mary Erie in the 1940 census in Wayne County, Tennessee who might be Tom's daughter. Either way, more research is needed!

Born 100 Years Ago Today: A Tribute to My Grandmother

My grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle, was born 100 years ago today. Though she died in 2004 at the age of 88, I'm paying tribute to her by sharing part of her life's story in words and photos.

Evelyn was the fifth child born to James Bedford & Nora (Ward) Dickson. Both the Ward and Dickson families had lived in Perry County, Tennessee for generations. But, for some reason, Evelyn was born about 100 miles away in Newbern, Dyer County, Tennessee on October 10th, 1915.

Sadly, when Evelyn was only 8 1/2 months old, her mother died. I remember Grandma telling me her mom died from "eating too many fresh vegetables," but the death certificate says her cause of death was "billious dysentery." Evelyn's mother was only 30 years old.

This is the only photo we have of my grandmother as a young child. She's about 2 and she's holding a pet chicken, most likely in Perry County, Tennessee. On the left is Elsie Jo Ward (age ~14), one of grandmother's first cousins, who is also holding a chicken. In the middle is Sallie (age ~58), the grandmother who raised my Grandmother Evelyn. And, on the right is Ethel Ward (~20), Sallie's youngest daughter. I scanned this photo at my grandmother's house about 15 years ago. I don't know what has become of the original.

Though Evelyn's dad evidently felt comfortable taking care of the older children (who were ages 12, 10, 8, & 4), he must have decided baby Evelyn would be better off with her maternal grandmother. So, Evelyn was raised by her widowed grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward.

Evelyn lived with her grandmother in Marsh Creek, Perry County, Tennessee surrounded by family including her father, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In the 1920 census, 4-year-old Evelyn was living with her grandmother and two unmarried uncles: Uncle Lowry and Uncle Grady. In 1930, she was still living in Marsh Creek with her grandmother, Sallie, and Uncle Lowry.

This is a photo of my grandfather and grandmother, Evelyn, taken in 1941 either right before or right after they were married in Ohio. The original is in my mother's possession.

Around 1941, at the age of 25, Evelyn met Sherman Kaechle who was working at a farm in Tennessee. They traveled to Toledo, Ohio where Sherman had family, and were married on July 5th, 1941. Though they lived in Tennessee for a few years, Evelyn would live most of the rest of her life in Indiana.

Although she didn't grow up in the same house as her father and older siblings, she still had a nice relationship with them. This is a photo of my Grandmother Evelyn, on the right, with her father, James B Dickson, in the middle, and oldest sister, Bernie, on the left. Original photo in possession of my mother.

Evelyn and her husband, Sherman Kaechle, with the first of their 7 children

Evelyn's first 4 children, a son then 3 daughters, were born within just 4 years of each other. Her fifth child, a son, was born 6 1/2 years later. The last two boys, born less than 12 months apart, weren't born for another 5 years. Altogether, Evelyn raised 7 children, 4 sons and 3 daughters. The oldest child was 16 1/2 when the last baby was born.

Grandmother Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle with my siblings and me (I'm on far right)

Evelyn survived breast cancer in 1986. But, 8 years later, the cancer returned; this time it attacked her bones. My mother took care of Grandma for several months at home. Eventually, though, Grandma was moved to hospice.

My mother, daughter, and I got to spend those last few days with her, though she responded very little. I held her hand and my 3-year-old daughter and I sang hymns to her. It was a sweet, but sad, time as I watched Grandma slip away. Peacefully, in the middle of the night on June 6th, 2004, Grandma Kaechle breathed her last. I believe she went home to be with her Lord where I will one day see her again.

Another Sad Chapter of Reuben Ward, Murdered Minister: A Case of an Insolvent Estate

Earlier this year, I wrote about my grandmother's grandfather, Reuben H. Ward. According to my grandmother's story, he was a Methodist circuit rider who had been murdered while going down the river. His body was then thrown overboard. I uncovered more details of the story through newspaper articles.

Index from Ancestry's Insolvent Estates, Perry County, Tennessee
Ward, R. H., page 62; Notice there is one more Ward and 2 more
Whitwells who are also likely my relatives. I haven't looked at these yet.

This week, while looking at Ancestry's new "probate and wills" databases, I discovered more information about Reuben H. Ward. I found that his estate was insolvent.

What is an insolvent estate? It's when an estate is in bankruptcy. So, the estate has more debt than equity. In other words, the person owed more money than they could pay back.

Reuben H. Ward
Image from Elizabeth Ramey, used with permission

In this case, the two administrators of Reuben's estate, Geo. D. Whitwell (Reuben's first cousin) and J. A. Denton, were ordered by the Clerk of the county, J. R. Godwin, to "give notice in the Linden Mail [a newspaper] and also at the Court-house door, in the Town of Linden, Tennessee, for all persons holding claims against the Estate of said deceased, to come forward and file them with me, as Clerk aforesaid, for a pro rata distribution on or before the 7 day of July 1907." [Unfortunately, according to Chronicling America, only three issues of the Linden Mail still exist, so I won't be able to find a copy of this notice.]

The order was apparently signed on January 7th, 1907. The first creditor appeared on January 21st. This was the Stewart Drug Co. saying Reuben (or his estate) owed them $3.95.

Over the next two years, a year and a half beyond the distribution date, a total of 30 creditors would be listed with amounts owed between $1.30 (to John T. Stanford) and $261.11, but with a $19.00 credit (to J. M. Lancaster). Among the many individuals listed, I also noticed the following:

• Murray & Essary, Attor'y's
• Paducah Furniture Company
• Lexington Hardward & Furniture Company
• L. V. Frazier (who I know from research is the local doctor)
• J. T. Mossite Co. Judgement & [???]
• J. P. Dickson (who I know to be his widow's sister)
• Citizen's Bank, Lexington, Tenn

In all, the amount Reuben's estate owed was $1,559.81. Unfortunately, "G. D. Whitwell Admr. has $125.00 to pay these claims less expenses of Admrs fee and clerk fee." So, these claimants probably only received about 10 cents per dollar of what they were owed.

Of course, I can't help but think of Reuben's widow, Sallie, who was only 45 at the time of Reuben's death. She had 8 of her 9 children still living, though the oldest three were already married. But, still living at home were the youngest five children: Lillie, age 18; Mittie, age 15; Mary, age 13; William, age 10; and Grady, age 7. 

Not only did Sallie have to worry about her missing husband for weeks, find out about his possible murder, and struggle through the murder trial, but now she also had to suffer the probable embarrassment of her husband's insolvent estate. And, how would she survive and provide for her children without his estate?

Sallie Ward, 1910 Census, Perry County, Tennesse

In April of 1910, about 3 years after the date set to pay off all claimants, Sallie was enumerated in District 1 of Perry County, Tennessee. On the same page as her two married sons, she is listed as a 49 year old widow with 5 children at home, now aged between 21 and 11 years old. Under occupation and industry, it has listed "farmer, farming." It says she works on her "own account" rather than as an employer or employee, and that she hasn't been out of work during the past year. Under education, it lists that she can both read and write. And, under "ownership of home," it lists that she owns, via a mortgage, her farm. It appears she's doing quite well for herself and her family!

Ten years later, in the 1920 census, two of Sallie's sons have taken over the farm and she's living with them.

So, Sallie survived. But, it must have been tough! Sallie raised my grandmother, Evelyn, so I feel a special connection with her. My grandmother's own mother died when she was just a baby, so Sallie was the only mom my grandmother ever knew.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

3 Reasons You Might Have Trouble Finding Your Ancestors on Ancestry's "Wills and Probate Records"

Over the past couple of days, I've spent some time looking for ancestors and other relatives on Ancestry's new "Wills and Probate Records" series. I was having trouble finding any of my numerous Perry County, Tennessee relatives, so I decided to skip the index and look at the actual records.

Here are the steps I used to get started:

• Went to Ancestry.com
• Clicked on "Search" then "Card Catalog"
• For Title, typed in "Probate" and the state's name (in my case, "Tennessee")
• Clicked on "Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008"
• On the right hand side, chose the county (in my case, "Perry")

This gave me three choices:

• Minutes of Insolvent Estates, 1883-1936
• Settlements, Guardians, 1865-1913
• Wills, 1863-1959

REASON #1: The years you're looking for aren't really included. Though the original title said it included "wills and probates" from 1779-2008, for Perry County the records years are much smaller: 1863-1959. (Perry County formed in 1819.)

.

Next, I opened up the "Wills, 1863-1959" section. At the bottom, there's the filmstrip which you can flip through to see the various subsections. In this "Wills" section, there were three subsections: 

• Wills, Dec 1863-March 1900
• Wills, Jan 1892-Nov. 1959
• Settlements, Guardians', and Admin., June 1877-May 1893

REASON #2: The type of record you're looking for isn't located where you'd expect it to be. In this case, the "Settlements, Guardians', and Admin., June 1877-May 1893" is under the "Wills, 1863-1959" section, and not the "Settlements, Guardians, 1865-1913" section. 

Since each of these subsections is indexed, I looked for my Whitwell surname in each index. Though I didn't find any Whitwells in the two "Wills" sections, I did find three Whitwells in the 3rd section containing settlements, guardians', and administrators.

Index page for Perry County, Tennessee, "Settlements, Guardians', and Admin 1877-May 1893

Though I don't recognize J. R. Whitwell and W. C. Whitwell, I have several possibile matches for Thomas (or Thos.) Whitwell. His records are found on the following pages: 113, 193, 231, 247, 331, 447, [Gdn] 488, 517.

Transcription: A Settlement this day made with Thos. Whitwell
Admr. of P. Whitwell decd.      As follows:

I looked at each page and found the following records:

page 113 - Thos. Whitwell, Administrator of the estate of P. Whitwell, deceased

page 193 - Thos. Whitwell, Administrator of the estate of P. Whitwell, deceased

page 231 - Thos. Whitwell, Administrator of the estate of Geo. G. Sheffield, deceased

page 247 - Thos. Whitwell, Administrator of the estate of G. G. Sheffield, deceased

page 331 - Thos. Whitwell, Administrator of the estate of P. Whitwell, deceased

page 447 - Thos. Whitwell, Guardian of Sallie Sheffield, minor heir of Geo. G. Sheffield, deceased

page 488 - Thos. Whitwell, Guardian of Sallie Sheffield

page 517 - Thomas Whitwell, Guardian of Sallie Sheffield

As you can see, the index is listing the name of the administrator or guardian and NOT the name of the deceased! So, you won't find your deceased relative through this index! (Wow!)

REASON #3: The names indexed are for the administrators or guardians... NOT the deceased! This really surprised me. To find these records, you'd either have to know the name of the administrator or guardian, or actually look at each page.  

As far as these records, who are P. Whitwell and his estate's administrator, Thomas Whitwell? 

P. Whitwell is my 4th great grandfather, Pleasant Whitwell, who died December 20th, 1875 in Perry County. His estate continued to be "settled" for more than 9 years. The last record, on page 447, is from February 1886.

Thomas Whitwell (1826-1901) was Pleasant's son. His daughter, Mary Elizabeth Whitwell (1848-1887) was married to the George G. Sheffield (1848-1881) listed above. The last item, page 517, is from the year 1892. Sallie would've been about 19 years old and the last living minor child of George G. Sheffield and Mary Elizabeth Whitwell.

Do we share common ancestors? If so, I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

Reuben H Ward:His Body was Thrown in the Tennessee River (#2 of 52 Ancestors)

My grandmother told the story of her grandfather, Reuben H Ward, a Methodist minister who was murdered. She said he was on the Tennessee River going to preach and someone murdered him and then threw his body overboard.

Several years ago, I came across a newspaper article that another researcher had found about this tragic event. It not only affirmed my grandmother's story, but it also added some crucial information:

1. Reuben's body was found weeks later many miles down river
2. a man named Charlie Ledbetter was charged with his murder
3. the "evidence was not sufficient to convict" Ledbetter

Tonight, I found two more items about my great, great grandfather:

1. an actual PHOTO of Reuben, thanks to a distant cousin! (I'm waiting on permission to post it!)
2. a newspaper article about the murder and the trial!

Tombstone of Reuben H. Ward
(image from FindAGrave, photo by Wilda Graves Patterson)

The newspaper article changes the way I envision Rev. Reuben. It states he was "intoxicated" and had to be "aided" up the river bank. Also, he had an existing "emnity" with the alleged murderer, Charlie Ledbetter. Somehow, I always envisioned someone trying to rob him!

I believe there is more to find on this story. In fact, this article starts by saying "It will be remembered by our readers..." and I haven't found the article they are referencing! I also hope to find the court records for this case. But, for now, this is the story of the (alleged) murder of my great, great grandfather, Reuben Houston Ward.

WAS IT MURDER?

The Tragic Death of a Lexington Man is Revived by two Arrests

Lexington Press.

It will be remembered by our readers that Reuben H. Ward, then a citizen of Lexington, was put across the Tennessee River at Perryville on the night of November 13, 1906, by William Rogers, a young white man, and a negro named Scott. Rogers aided Ward, who was intoxicated, part the way up the east bank of the river, and from that time until December 9, when the unfortunate man's body was found below Jacksonville, his fate was but a matter of conjecture. 

Suspicion, however, pointed to Charlie Ledbetter, as there was said to be enmity existing between him and Ward.

When Ward's body was discovered and brought to Perryville, an examination was made by Drs. L. V. Frazier and S. A McDonald, and there were rumors of that examination showing evidences of Ward having been murdered.

Recently it was developed that a boy named Lonny Downs, who lived with Ledbetter and had left for parts unknown, knew something of the matter, and when he was located at Cumberland City he was arrested by a deputy sheriff and brought to Linden.

On May 15 a warrant for Ledbetter's arrest was issued and later was served upon him at his home in East Perryville. Thursday of last week the preliminary trial of Ledbetter was begun in Linden before Justices Tinin, Curl, and Hinson and was concluded Friday.

We are informed that Down testifies that Ledbetter killed Ward and forced him by threats to help throw the body into the river. Ledbetter was jailed without bail to await the next session of circuit court at Linden.

Reuben Houston Ward was born 14 Jan 1859 in Perry County, Tennessee and died 13 Nov 1906 on the Tennessee River near Perryville. He was the son of Carroll Houston Ward (1826-1863) and Martha Ann Whitwell (1830-1904). He married Sallie Harriett Dickson (1860-1960) who raised my grandmother. Reuben and Sallie had eight children who survived to adulthood and one who died as an infant.

(Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow of "No Story Too Small" for creating & hosting "52 Ancestors"!) 

Newspaper sources:

• Was It Murder?, The Camden Chronicle, Camden, Tennessee, 07 Jun 1907, page 2, column 4, digital image chroniclingamerica.com, (http://www.chroniclingamerica.com: accessed 12 Jan 2015) 
• Snows Early and Snows Late, Lexington Progress, Lexington, Tennessee, 26 Nov 1926, posted online on Ancestry trees and Find-a-Grave memorial page. 

UPDATE: I found another newspaper article on 27 Jan 2015. This one is from right after the body was found. Here's the article:

R. H. Ward who started to his old home in Perry County about three weeks ago, got as far as the Tennessee River and was ferried across and his whereabouts have been shrouded in mystery. His son and other relatives have been on the search day and night since his disappearance and not until Sunday night was his body found. It seems that he was drowned, as the body was found ten miles below Johnsonville, and there were no signs on his body to indicate that he had been foully dealt with.    Lexington Republic

It seems that Ward was drinking at the time he was ferried over the river. As it was dark at the time, the supposition is he walked into the river and was drowned.

Source: R. H. Ward, The Camden Chronicle, Camden, Tennessee, 21 Dec 1906, page 3, column 4, digital image chroniclingamerica.com, (http://www.chroniclingamerica.com: accessed 27 Jan 2015)

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Civil War Soldier Struck by Lightning!

Here's an excerpt from an interesting letter I found in a relative's Civil War service record today. It appears to be written by a Captain Hogle and is dated February 21st, 1865. It starts by explaining when and where he enlisted and that he had served faithfully for a year and was experiencing good health. But, that changed on the night of August 3rd, 1864... when he was struck by lightning!

...since which time, he has been wholly unable for duty. The lightning struck the right side of the head, face and shoulder extending down the arm, side, thigh, leg and foot. the side and thigh is still black. the leg and arm is to some extent paralyzed and rendered partially useless. the said George W. Ward has has spasms as often as every month since Aug. 3rd, 1864. and in my opinion will never recover or be of any benefit to the Government. He received his Disability while in the service of the United States. Disability in my opinion amounts to at least one half. [the letter continues]

Letter from Civil War Service Record of George W Ward, Union Records, Tennessee,
Second Mounted Infantry, image 20 of 21 on Fold3 (accessed 05 Oct 2014)

I guess these young men were truly exposed to the elements! How frustrating this must have been! Not only the injuries and the pain, but also to have to sop fighting the enemy because of being struck by lightning!

The young man who was struck by lightning was George W Ward (b abt 1837 in Perry County, Tennessee - d bet 1800-1810 in Bollinger County, Missouri) who is my 1st cousin five times removed. The ancestor we have in common is my 5th times great grandfather, Nathan Ward Senior (b abt 1750 in Virginia - d abt 1854 in Perry County, Tennessee).

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Do you know the difference between a company and a regiment?

I didn't enjoy history class when I was growing up and have only grown to appreciate it in the past decade or so. Now, I love watching war movies and visiting war sites. But, I was really confused as I read over a 1911 Civil War Questionnaire today. This one is for a brother of my great, great grandfather, James B Dickson (1840-1902). James didn't live long enough to participate in some questionnaires that went out for the 50th anniversary of the start of the war, but two of his brothers did.

Photo of Pointe du Hoc from our visit to the beaches of Normandy, France

Yesterday, I received the questionnaire for his brother, William Porter Dickson (1842-1926). I was disappointed that the biographical memoranda was almost empty. The military supplement, however, had a lot of information. But, as I read it, I was confused!

William Porter Dickson's 1911 Confederate Military Service Memoranda Supplement Form

Above you'll find the first page of this military supplement. So, he signed up in Kentucky and evidently fought with people from Tennessee. And he says at one point he's part of "Company D" under Jno. Hill and in another that he's a part of the 12th Tennessee Infantry. I was confused. Who did he fight with? And, where can I find more information about them? 

Then I understood.... this document was saying that he was a part of company D and that he was part of the 12th regiment. So, what's a company? And what's a regiment? (Maybe I haven't watched enough war movies!) For me, the next step was to Google the answers.

I found a page called "Army Organization" at Shotgun's Home of the Civil War page. Basically, the company is the smallest unit with the head of the company being a captain. William P Dickson reported that there were 108 men in his company, which is within the normal size.

A regiment is usually comprised of ten companies, though some have twelve. The head of a regiment is a colonel. There are also lieutenant colonels and majors. 

The regiments join together to form brigades, and the brigades join together to form divisions. According to the site: "Theoretically, company strength was 100; regiment, 1,000; brigade, 4,000; and division, 12,000." Of course, these numbers were just 'in theory', but it gives you a framework for how they fit together and an idea of how many men were in each organization.

After figuring out that I needed to look for the 12th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, I was able to find a webpage which gave me more information. It lists the ten companies that form his regiment, including company D from Gibson County. It lists each company's captain along with the colonel in charge of the regiment. The information lined up fairly well with the information William had given nearly fifty years later.

To me, the most interesting part of this questionnaire was second page which lists the battles in which his company was engaged. He listed eight battles and my next step is to learn more about each of these!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Many Children/Grandchildren in your Matrilineal Line?

Carrie, over at "Under the Nut Tree Genealogy" participated in an older Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge today. This post, from January 18th of this year, is titled "How Many Children/Grandchildren in Your Matrilineal Line?" I thought I'd participate as I didn't have a blog in January. Here's the challenge:

1. Consider your Matrilineal Line (mother's mothers mother's, etc.) families - the ones from your mother back through her mother all the way back to the first of that matrilineal line in your family group sheets or genealogy database. List the names of these mothers, and their lifespan years.
2. Use your paper charts or genealogy software program to create a Descendants chart (dropline or graphical) that provide the children and their children (i.e., up to the grandchildren of each mother in the surname list).
3. Count how many children they had (with all spouses), and the children of those children in your records and/or database. Add those numbers to the list. See my example below! [Note: Do not count the spouses of the children]
4. What does this list of children and grandchildren tell you about these persons in your matrilineal line? Does this task indicate areas that you need to do more research to fill out families and find potential cousins?
5. Tell us about it in your own blog post, or in a comment to this post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google+.

So, here goes!

Headstone of Lenora Dickson & her husband, Matthew
Posted by Wilda Graves Patterson at FindAGrave

My matrilineal line is (note: I'm not including spouses)

• My mom (still living): 3 children, 2 grandchildren
• My grandmother, Ethel Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle (1915-2004): 7 children, 13 grandchildren
• Martha Lenora "Nora" (Ward) Dickson (1885-1916): 5 children, 15 grandchildren
• Sallie Harriett (Dickson) Ward (1860-1960): 9 children, 41 grandchildren
• Lenora "Nora" J (Mays) Dickson (1823-1909): 9 children, 30 grandchildren

I decided to skip the spouses & just do the direct line. So, the direct descendants of Lenora (Mays) Dickson in my line are: 111 people! (I hope I counted this right...)

My grandmother was born near Perry County, Tennessee and grew up there. She moved away when she married my grandfather. Her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother were all born and are buried in Perry County.

"Does this indicate any area I need to work on?" Yes! I need to work on the children of Lenora (Mays) Dickson. I have yet to identify her parents, though I've narrowed it down to a few probabilities from the Mays families in the 1830 & 1840 censuses. I see some of these children have hints, so I'm off to explore!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Discovering Civil War Questionnaires & Reunions

I mentioned on my "inmates" post that I had an ancestors who was an inmate in an "old soldier's home" but I couldn't remember which ancestors. So, to find out more about these types of homes, I randomly looked at the Arkansas "Confederate Home Records" site. They have a search engine where you can look for ancestors who might have lived here. And, if you find a match, you can fill out a form and send off for their records!

Pretty neat, right? Except I don't have confederate soldiers from Arkansas. However, I was playing around and typed in three family names I did have who served as Confederate soldiers from Perry County, Tennessee. I didn't find any names I recognized.

But, then I noticed some of the other military records. One is titled "1911 Confederate Veterans Questionnaires." Well, that sounds interesting! (I now realize these questionnaires were just for Arkansas, but I thought they were for all Confederates at first.) I tried the same three surnames: Whitwell, Ward & Dickson.

public domain - image from wikipedia

When I typed in Dickson, I got a match! William Porter DICKSON who served in Company D of the 12th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He's a brother to my James B DICKSON who served in the same company. Wow! I went to my family tree and saw that he did live in Arkansas later in his life. Wonderful!

I clicked on his name and got additional information which I can use to send off for his file. His file is marked "average" rather than "poor" or "excellent" which means that "most of the information requested was provided". Great!

So, what might I expect in this file? There is a Biographical Memoranda Form which asks for full name, mailing address, date and place of birth, and family information. And, there is a Confederate Military Service Memoranda. I'm particularly interested in the Biographical Form as I don't know the maiden name of William P (& James B) Dickson's mother, Sarah!

image from Wikipedia

I thought I'd look at more military records on this site, Arkansas History Commission. The other place I found William Porter Dickson was on the 1911 Confederate Veterans Reunion Registration Forms! (By the way, when you click on these military links it takes you to another site: Arkansas Civil War.)

What was this reunion and what might I find in these records? This was the 21st annual Civil War union which was held in Little Rock, Arkansas, fifty years after the start of the Civil War. Approximately 15,000 veterans attended! Most of the veterans filled out the questionnaires; but other people filled them out, too! Who knows who you might find in these forms?

I'm excited to learn more about my Dickson family & their Civil War service. But, this also opens up another research possibility for other Civil War veterans. I need to look for both questionnaires & reunions in whatever state they lived in! And also check out the national reunions!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net