Amanuensis Monday: Will of Francis Toms 1633-1712

Francis Toms Sr. was my maternal 8th great grandfather and part of my Quaker heritage. In 1689 his daughter Mary Toms, married Gabriel Newby, son of William and Isabel (Turner) Newby. My Newby ancestors finally daughter out with my maternal grandmother, Mary Fern (Newby) Runyan. 

Detailed Toms genealogy is contained in The Batchelor-Williams Families and Related Lines by Lyle Keith Williams, Fort Worth, Texas, 1976. According to Williams, "Francis Toms 'who came into Virginia about 1649' and was 'age 77 in 1710,' lived about nine years in Martin's Brandon on the South Side of James River (Charles City County, now Prince George County). He then moved to the adjoining county of Surry about 1660, and in 1669 moved to North Carolina. He was among the earliest settlers of Albemarle County, North Carolina. He and his family were accepted in the Society of Friends in 1672".

Friends Meeting House New Garden, NC 1869

The Will of Francis Toms Sr.

Perquomons In No Carolina ye 6th Day of ye 10 Month 1709 I Francis Tomes Snr being of a Sound mind & memory considering ye Uncertainty of this life Doe make & ordain this my last will & testament In manner & forme as followeth Vizt My will is that my estate Shall not be brought to an apraisemt but shall be distributed according to my will att ye Discretion of my Executors hereafter named & after my Just Debts are paid. I bequeath my Estate as followeth. I Give to my loving wife Mary Tomes all her waring apparrel Her Sadle Horse Her White pasing mare & her coult To her & her heirs for Ever. I Give to my loving wife all my houshould Goods & both Iron Brass peuter & other necessaries belonging To us Keeping that Steds Cuboards Chears Chests. I Give unto my loving wife three feather beds with what furniture is belonging to them During her natural Life for her Service & for ye Service of Gods people Messengers & Ministers that he Send amongst us wch feather beds to be keept in ye porch Chamber for Gods Messengers & Ministers to Lodge In & my sd wife Shall not Imbasel nor Sell away of ye Said Goods out of ye house nor of ye plantation for they Doe belong to my Son Francis Tomes & his heirs for to keep up ye truth for ye Honour of God as I have done before him too End of Time. I Give unto my Loving wife Eight Cows & Calves by their Side, foure Stear & one bull & ten sows & six Hillable Barrows & Six yewes & one Ram all which my Executors shall leave In ye hands of my Loving wife for her Sustenance & maintanace During her Natural life. I Give unto my Loving wife this manner house & all ye houses orchards & all ye Clear Ground between Reehers & ye Bridge & So to Thigpens land & Timber for rales or to Repair House or to Build on ye plantation During her natural Life. I Give to my Loving wife my horse mill & my Still & ye two mill horses During her Natural Life. I Give to my loving wife three negroes James, Moll & Pattemore During her natural life. Also Will Plato & Vestaleve till they are free. I Give to my loving wife my Loome & all ye Gores belonging to itt & all my Shoemakers Tools During her natural life. I Give to my wife my Harro & harn hoes & axes weaden hoes hilling Hoes & all other Tools belonging to ye Cropp for her Life. I Give to my son Francis Tomes Six hundred & forty acres of land my negro Sam both to him & his heirs for Ever. I Give to my Son Joshuath Tomes my negroe Mingo to him & his heirs for Ever. I Give to my Son Francis Tomes Six hundred & forty acres of land lying between Reahors land & that as was called Vosses being James Morgins To him & to his lawfully begotten or Shall be ---- of his one body for ever. I Give to my Son Francis Tomes --- fifty acres of land lying on ye sd ---- of Vosse Creak & So running to ye ---- To him & his heirs for Ever. I Give to my Son Joshua Tomes four hundred acres of Land lying on ye -------- to him & his heirs for ever lawfully begotten ------ lawfully to be begotten of his one body for Ever. I --- Give to my three Children namely Francis Tomes Joshua Tomes & Presela Nicholson to each of them one feather bed with furniture that ------- for ye said beds. I Give to my loving Daughter Mary Newby five Shillings for she had her portion when she married Gabriell. I Give to my Grandson Francis Newby Three hundred acres of land lying on the South west of Vosse Creak att ye foot of ye Bridge to him & his heirs for Ever. I Give to my Son Francis & Joshua & Presela Nicholson all ye remaining part of my Estates that Horses & mare Cattle Hoggs & Sheep to be Equally devided between them three ---, my sadle horse Sorrester I Give to Preselo Nicholson & what Debts is Due to me Either att home or abroad to be Devided into four parts one for Francis Tomes one for Joshua Tomes one for my wife one for Presela Nicholson Equally to be Devided between them foure. I Give to my wife my Bible & Isack Penningtons Booke & Francis Kongols (?) Book & ye Bob Witlet (?) Book & a book Called Marage Lost (?). I Give to my loving wife one Third part of all my tand leather & ye rest to be devided as afsd. I Give unto my loving wife one --- & a halfe of barrels with ye H----- belonging to ye Still, but If my loving wife Shall marry or move of ye plantation she shall not any of ye houshould Goods or stock from of ye plantation for Itt belongs to my Son Francis Tomes for him to act & Doe as a afsd to the Honour of God, but my Son Shall not by his one Inheritance but if my wife will stay upon ye plantation She shall not be molested During her Life. I Give to my Son Francis Tomes all my Coopers Tools. I Give to my Son Joshua my Currier knife & Still, but if my Debts Shall be brought Justly against my Estate after it is Devided then my loving wife & all my Three Children Shall pay Equall Shares. I Doe appoint my two Loving Sons Francis Tomes & Joshua Tomes To be my Executors to this my Last will Performed as Witnessed my hand & Seal ye Day & year above Said memorandum that after ye Death of my wife negroe Jane to Francis & Moll to Joshua.

Wittness hereunto-----

WB Francis Tomes

William Boge Mathew N Alberson

John Stepny

Since Itt hath pleased almighty God to take out of this world my Father In law Jno. Nichols my will is that that pt of my Estate I have Given to my Daughter Presilla now wife of Jno Kinsely to be devided ye one half to her ye other half to ye children of her by Jno Kinsely Deceased & my will is that ye windmill now building on ye plantation I live on for ye free hold my wife & Children having ye use thereof She freely for grindeing their familyes Corne helping & paying their portion toward ye keeping & repair & This I Doe declare to be a Codicil to my will.

Witness: 

Fred Jones 

Francis Tomes

Joseph Carron

To this lengthy post I have decided to include an interesting snippit taken from the Greensboro, N.C. Daily News dated Sunday, 9 Aug 1936. It is a quote from Alpheus Briggs' manuscript on Quakerism. A cache of old Quaker Meeting records had recently been discovered in a home once owned by the Lambs and before that, the Newbys; most likely Gabriel and Mary (Toms) Newby, my ancestors, although the article doesn't specify. According to Briggs, the records indicate that the home of Francis Toms Sr. was the original meeting place of the first North Carolina Yearly Meeting.

Greensboro, N.C. Daily News
Sunday, August 9, 1936

In his manuscript, page 11, Briggs writes: "On the 4th day of 4th mo. 1698 at the home of Henry White the Quarterly Meeting by unanimous agreement decide to organize a yearly meeting to be held at this center at the home of Francis Toms the elder." This was no doubt the nearest approach to a beginning to North Carolina Yearly Meeting that any existing records show. "There is hardly any question," Briggs manuscript continues, "but that this quarterly meeting and yearly meeting was 'set up' by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and not by London Yearly Meeting as some have held."

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Wordless Wednesday: Runyan Siblings 1955

Grace Anna (Runyan) Crim and her brother, my maternal grandfather,
Lawrence Everett Runyan, Indiana 1955

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Tombstone Tuesday: Robert and Jane Whiteley

Robert Henry Whiteley:  21 Aug 1815 - 22 Jan 1894
Jane Whiteley: 6 Oct 1820 - 22 May 1896

Tombstone of Robert and Jane Whiteley
Circle Grove Cemetery - Spiceland, Indiana

Robert and Jane (Woollen) Whiteley were my maternal 3rd great grandparents. More information and photos may be found at the following links:

Quaker Roots: Robert Henry Whiteley 1815 - 1894 

Funeral Card Friday: Quaker Roots

Note: Surname is most commonly spelled "Whiteley". The second e is left off the tombstone.

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1836 Marriage Bond: Uriah Sutton to Euna Delaney

Uriah Sutton and Euna Delaney were my paternal 3rd great grandparents. The part of Lincoln county where they lived and were married, later became part of Rockcastle Co., Kentucky. Uriah and Euna had 11 known children.  

Lincoln Co., Kentucky 1836

Marriage Bond dated 10 Sep 1836
Signed by Uriah Sutton and Euna's father, Joseph Delaney

Know all men by these presents that we Uriah L(?) Sutton and Joseph Delany are held and firmly bound unto the commonwealth of Kentucky in the final sum of ₤100 witness our hands and seals this 10 day of September 1836 whereas this(?) is a license about to be issued from the clerks office of the Lincoln County Court for a marriage intended between the above bound Uriah (?) Sutton and Unah Delany. Now should there be no legal cause to obstruct said marriage then this obligation to be void.

Test                                  Uriah Sutton

G.(?) H. McKinny               Joseph Delany

Note: This is the only time I have ever seen a middle initial for Uriah and I am unable to be sure if it is L or S as in both instances above it is very faded. I'm not sure about that lira symbol before the sum but I imagine it was supposed to be a dollar sign. I have placed a question mark where I was unsure of letters. I use the spelling Delaney in my records as that is the more commonly seen spelling and the name Euna is a family name passed down for several generations and was almost always spelled incorrectly.

More information about Uriah and Euna (and Uriah's second wife) can be found at this link:

In The Beginning...... Year 2: What's More Important?

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SSN Application: William Jesse Wallen 1937

This application for a social security number was filled out by my paternal grandfather, William J. Wallen in March of 1937 when he still worked for Electrolux in Greencastle, Indiana. He and my grandmother had been married 17 years and they had three young children. 

SSN Application - William Jesse Wallen - 14 Mar 1937

When my parents married, my Grandfather Bill must have talked up Electrolux to my mother because after our family was finally able to afford such a high end vacuum cleaner, it was the only brand my mother would ever own.

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SSN Application: Illinois (Townsend) Wallen 1958

This is the application for a Social Security number filled out by my paternal grandmother, Iva Illinois (Townsend) Wallen in March of 1958. "Noy" was already grandmother to 5 children at the time she filled this out. My grandfather deserted her about 1954 and they divorced sometime in the early 1960s.

Grandmother Noy lived with her daughter Jeanne for the rest of her life. Aunt Jeanne had divorced in 1951 and neither woman ever remarried.

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SSN Application - Lawrence E. Runyan 1936

This application for a social security number was filled out by my maternal grandfather, Lawrence Everett Runyan, in 1936. I was filled with memories when I received this document as I remember well the square print my grandfather always used. This may be the only thing I have in his hand.

SSN Application - Lawrence Everett Runyan - 3 Dec 1936

My mother would have been 11 years old at this time. I had to laugh when I saw that Granddad left out one of the E's in his middle name when he filled this out! My grandmother often spelled his first name with a U instead of a W.

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Orphans From Rockcastle Co., Kentucky 1873-1910

This article may be of interest to that part of my family who descend from, or are in some other way related to, Oliver Morton Wallen, my paternal great grandfather. It may also interest those doing research on other families who lived in Rockcastle Co., Kentucky. 

Along with the Wallen children and others listed here, are the Cress children who I am familiar with: Derrell Mitchell Cress, Eddie L. Cress, and Lizzie C. Cress. They are the youngest children of Derrell M. Cress Sr. and his third wife Sarah Elizabeth (Warren) Cress. Derrell Sr. is mentioned in Oliver's diary and Derrell Sr. and two of his daughters married distant relatives in our family.  The Wallen children listed in this article are James Hobert and his twin Charles Homer, Sula Susan and her twin Thomas Miller, and my grandfather William Jesse, all children of Sarah Frances (Davis) Wallen and her deceased husband Oliver.

From the Mt. Vernon Signal Newspaper dated 14 Jan 1910:

Article from the Mt.
Vernon Signal dated
14 Jan 1910

Orphans sent from Rockcastle county to Masonic Widows and Orphans Home, Louisville, beginning in the year 1873 are named below; Alice and Theodosia Denson were the first, Charles E. and Wm. C. Argenbright, Livingston; Goebel and Sherman Bowers, Jack Adams Carter and Mary Carter, Brodhead; Harrison Clark, Cline Clark, D. M. Cress, E. L. Cress, L. C. Cress, Ed Herron, John Herron, Hazel Salyers, James Scarbrough, Nora Scarbrough, Herbert (sic) Wallen, Homer Wallen, Susie S. Wallen, Thomas M. Wallen and Wm. J. Wallen, from Mt. Vernon. Many of these remained at the Home and received good educations and are today leading, business citizens in various states. Others were permitted to return to their former homes or homes found for them by their relatives before finishing their education. There are now remaining in the home nine Rockcastle children ranging in ages from 5 to 15, all getting along nicely and well satisfied with the kind treatment received and their progress in securing an education and learning various useful trades and callings.

The story (with photos) of Sarah and the children's return to Kentucky after Oliver's death in Texas, and the subsequent placing of the children in the Masonic Home, can be read here: Tombstone Tuesday: Oliver's Tomb, Then And Now ~ Sarah's Return.

A photo of Sarah and all five of the Wallen children at the Masonic Home and another photo of the exterior of the Masonic Home from the approximate time period can be seen here: Wordless Wednesday: At The Louisville Masonic Widows And Orphans Home

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Wordless Wednesday: Harvey and Rose Logsdon

Joseph Harvey Logsdon and mother Rose Lee (Mattingly) Logsdon
Father and Grandmother of my husband Mike
Louisville, Kentucky circa late 1940s

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Tombstone Tuesday: Nancy Eliza (Martin) Brown

Nancy was the daughter of James Monroe and Susannah (Grabeel) Martin. She was the sister of my paternal great, great grandmother, Ursula Ann (Martin) Davis-Burnette. Nancy was born 10 Dec 1850 in Lee Co., Virginia. She married Pleasant H. Brown on 16 Oct 1868 in Pulaski Co., Kentucky and died a little over two years later.

Tombstone of Nancy E. Brown, Friendship Cemetery, Rockcastle Co., Kentucky

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Military Monday: Pvt. James Alexander Grunden

Pvt. James A. Grunden 1841-1906

James A. Grunden was the son of Joseph and Martha (Dungan) Grunden. He was the brother of my maternal great, great grandmother, Mary Louisa (Grunden) Newby. This photo was in our collection as an "unknown" for many, many years, until I accidentally met my cousin Frances, James's great granddaughter. To my amazement, Frances had a duplicate of this same photo! This discovery was one of the most startling cases of serendipity in my early days of genealogy.

James was a private in Co. B. of the19th Indiana Infantry and a part of the famous "Iron Brigade". His outfit went through the worst: Gettysburg, Antietam, and many other big battles.The Iron Brigade suffered the highest number of battle deaths during the war. 115 men made up Co. B. when they left Richmond, Indiana in 1861 and only 10 of those men returned in 1865. James was one who returned.

James can probably attribute his survival to an accident that happened early in his service. One night while standing guard, his musket accidentally discharged, blowing off the forefinger of his right hand. This wound would prevent him from ever using a musket, so when he returned he was assigned to driving an ambulance. James drove the ambulance for nearly four years.

Some of James's story is told in On Many A Bloody Field: Four Years In The Iron Brigade by Alan D. Gaff. There is another photo of him in uniform on page 364 that was donated to the author by my cousin Frances. Frances had a large oil painting done from that photo which is now proudly displayed in her home.

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And George Cook Makes Six

When I received the obituary of John B. Cook, saying he was the youngest of six children, I assumed it was a simple error. After all, who knows who wrote that obituary? The only immediate family member left was John's son Charles who was living in California when John died. John had resided in Indiana all his life and was living in a home for the elderly for a number of years with his wife who had died two years before him. It appeared to me that someone at the home had written the obituary. What if they were mistaken about the number of older siblings John had?

When, just a short time later, another researcher pointed out that a George Cook had married Sarah Ann Kirkpatrick, sister of Nancy Jane Kirkpatrick, wife of John's oldest brother Allison, I was in denial for almost a year. How could there be a sibling I knew absolutely nothing about? Last week I decided it was time to chase it down.

I knew that my maternal third great grandparents, Giles and Martha (Brown) Cook had five children. One daughter, Elizabeth Ann, had died as a toddler and was buried next to her parents in the Reddick Cemetery in Rush Co., Indiana. The other four siblings, Allison, Phoebe, Eliza Jane, and John B. appear in two group photos in our family album. One photo was of just the siblings, the other included their spouses. Their mother Martha died in 1841, probably due to complications of giving birth to John, and in 1842 Giles married again to the widow Rebecca (Goble) Parkhurst who had already given birth to at least ten children from her first marriage. Only three of those Parkhurst children lived to see 1850.

Giles Cook (see end note)

By the time the 1850 census was taken, Giles had farmed all his children out except for the youngest, John. I never understood the practice of farming out your children after you remarried, especially teenage boys that could help with farm chores, but I've come across it quite often on both sides of my family.  None of the three living Parkhurst children were in the home either, but Giles and Rebecca had added three brand new Cook children to the fold: William, Margaret Ellen, and Amanda Jane. Three others had been born dead or died as newborns.

In 1850 Allison, 16 years old and the oldest child, was living on the farm of a couple who had a large family. My ancestor, Phoebe, 14, was living with her maternal grandparents, George and Rebecca (Sutherland) Brown. Eliza Jane, 11, was living with her uncle and maternal aunt, Peter and Phoebe (Brown) Smelzer. Eliza would later marry her step brother, George Mason Parkhurst. John B., as I said, was living with his father and step-mother along with his three half-siblings.

When I received John's obituary from the Knightstown Banner, and was later alerted to the fact that Allison's sister-in-law had married a George Cook who was just one year younger than Allison, I knew it was possible that brothers had married sisters. However, Cook is a common name, so I was hesitant to jump to conclusions. So, last week, I decided to  re-examine the 1840 census. Sure enough, there were two boys in the 1830 - 1835 age slot, not one. I searched and searched for George in the 1850 census. Nothing. Where was the 15 year old living? The only possibility I found was in Tippecanoe Co., Indiana. But that was pretty far from Rush county. What made it intriguing though, was the presence of a slightly older boy, Samuel Cook, and two young men with the surname Brown, all living in the same household. If this was our George, who would later marry Sarah Ann Kirkpatrick, these others could all be family members, uncles or cousins. So far, I have not been able to come up with anything worth while on that.

Over the next few days I was able to locate George and Sarah Ann and their family in every other census up until their deaths. George died in 1895 and Sarah Ann married her second husband, Richard Abernathy, in 1901. Sarah died in 1929 and she and George are buried in the Brookside Cemetery in Windfall, Indiana.

Cook siblings in order of age

I still have a lot of work to do to fill in all the accumulated information on George's many descendants in my database. I don't have absolute proof George belongs, but I do have enough bits of evidence to convince me that I need to accept him into the family.  Adding to what I've already mentioned are naming patterns; George may have been named after his maternal grandfather, George Brown, and he named a daughter Martha, possibly after his mother. He named a daughter Nancy Jane, after his wife's sister. George's age also fits him perfectly between Allison and Phoebe. Then there is the obituary of Allison's wife Nancy, where it states that George's son John came all the way from Windfall, Tipton Co., Indiana to attend the funeral. But of course, we know Nancy was his maternal aunt. Was Allison also his paternal uncle? And lastly, there is a family history written a couple of generations later by the granddaughter of Amanda Jane, daughter of Giles and Rebecca, that states that Giles and Martha had eight children before Martha died. If John B. Cook told of being the youngest of six children, it is possible he was not including the toddler Elizabeth Ann, who died before he was born. If the family history is correct, then I'm still one child short somewhere. Another child who, perhaps, died young.

Note: Photo of Giles Cook was from a copy, made for me, of a tintype owned by half-cousin Kathy, very likely made on the farm in Rush county. The two little girls are not identified but, if it is a very early tintype, these may be his two youngest daughters, Margaret Ellen and Amanda Jane, but it is much more likely that they are granddaughters. My best guess would be that they are the two oldest daughters from the first marriage of my ancestor Phoebe: Sarah Elizabeth and Laura Alice Trowbridge. 

Up until fairly recently, I always imagined that Giles Cook was a poor farmer, but those fine horses (click on the photo to see a larger version) are not the horses of a poor farmer!

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Sunday's Obituary: Nancy J. (Kirkpatrick) Cook

Nancy Jane was the daughter of Joseph Rankin and Lucretia (Zion) Kirkpatrick. She was the wife of my maternal great, great grand-uncle, Allison Cook, son of Giles and Martha (Brown) Cook. 

Obituary - Knightstown Banner 2 Oct 1914

   In loving memory of a dear mother, who has passed from labor to reward.

I love each furrow in thy face,

The silver in thy hair,

There's naught but beauty I can trace,

There's none that's half so fair.

The love shone out from those dear eyes,

How well I knew the sign

Of kindness, sweetness, all that's good,

Dear mother, mother mine.

You nursed me through my infant years,

You loved me as a child,

You shared with me my hopes and fears,

With counsel good and mild.

And when my erring footstep strayed

How sad that heart of thine,

You loved me better than before--

Dear mother, mother mine.

  And so today, neighbors, friends and kindred have met to pay a tribute of respect to a good woman, who had traveled down life's rugged journey, lo these many years.

   Nancy Jane Cook, daughter of Rankin and Lucy Kirkpatrick, was born in Rush county, Indiana, July 10, 1842, and departed this life September 23, 1914. She was the second child of a family of thirteen children.

    She was married to Jacob Johnson, January 21st, 1858, and to this happy union was born two daughters, Elnora and Lucretia, the latter dying in early childhood.

     On May 26, 1864, death again entered this home and took away her beloved companion. 

   November 16, 1865, she was married to Allison Cook. Three children came to bless this home, Mrs. Ollie Harrold, now residing in Indianapolis; Mrs. William Moffitt, who died in Emporia, Kansas, a bride of only six weeks; Joseph R. Cook, of Knightstown, with whom she has made her home for more than twelve years past.

 The death angel again visited this home and took away her companion and left her to tread life's weary pathway all alone, her children all having married and gone away to set up omes of their own.

     She became a christian in early life and was buried with her lord in christian baptism. She united with the Missionary Baptist church in Grant county, that being her home at that time. On moving back to Rush county she, with her husband, identified themselves with the Christian church at Center, Indiana, and was a humble worshiper in the sanctuary of the Lord. When she came to make her home with her son in Knightstown, she transferred her membership to the local congregation and was in harmony and sympathy and attended the services faithfully until deprived of the privilege by her late afflictions and loved to talk of her hopes and desires of the christian life, until the Master said - "It is enough; come up higher," and she went to join that company of redeemed who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

    Her last few years were full of suffering, but she bore it with christian fortitude, never complaining, but in her weakness of body battled on, ever ready to meet and greet her friends with a happy smile, and saying as life was drawing to a close that she was ready and willing to depart and be with the Savior.

    She leaves to mourn her departure six sisters, two brothers, three children- Mrs. Columbus Moffitt and Joseph Cook of Knightstown, and Mrs. Ollie Harrold of Indianapolis; also eleven grand children and ten great-grand children, and many friends and neighbors who have only words of praise for her.

    The following poem is one she expressed a desire to have read in connection with the last sad rites:

"Home is not home, for mother is not there,

Angels have taken her out of our care;

Dark is our home and vacant her chair,

Home is not home, for mother is not there.

She has gone from her dear ones,

Her children and friends,

Whom she willing toiled for

And loved as her life,

Never shall her memory fade;

Sweetest thoughts shall ever linger,

Around the cemetery where she is laid,

Often comes from our hearts a bitter cry,

Why did our dear mother die?

Yet again we hope to meet her

When the days of life have fled,

And in heaven with joy to greet her

When no farewell tears are shed."

________________ 

CARD OF THANKS.

     By this means we want to thank our neighbors and friends for the beautiful flowers and the many kind acts done during the sickness and death of our mother.
                                                           Joseph and May Cook,

                                                           Elnora Moffitt,

                                                           Ollie Harrold.

________________

     The following persons from a distance were in attendance at the funeral of Mrs. Cook: Mrs. Ollie B. Harrold, Miss Fern Harrold and Clarence Harrold, Indianapolis; John Cook, Windfall, Ind.; George Kirkpatrick and wife and Mr. and Mrs. McKay, Kokomo, Ind.; J. W. Cooper and wife, Greenfield; E. M. Tentmyers, Elwood; Mrs. Elizabeth Farrington, Anderson; Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Pickering, of Kennard; Mrs. Frank Livezey and Mrs. E. S. Jackson, New Castle; Mrs. Harry Griffith, Delphi; Mrs. Horace Worth, of Morristown; Mr. and Mrs. Otto Price, of New Castle.


Nancy and Allison are buried in Center Cemetery, Mays, Rush Co., Indiana.

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Tombstone Tuesday: Ruth Darling 1899-1976

RUTH DARLING

1 Mar 1899 - 15 Nov 1976

Circle Grove Cemetry, Spiceland Township, Henry Co., Indiana

Ruth was the daughter of Elijah D. and Onedia C. (Morris) Darling, and the niece of my maternal 2nd great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Darling) Runyan. Ruth never married.

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Amanuensis Monday: Deed - Cox and Harris 1745

Stephen and Judith (Woodson) Cox were the parents of my 6th great grandmother, Mary (Cox) Wallen, wife of William Wallen, the Revolutionary War patriot.

Deed between Stephen & Judith Cox and John Harris

Goochland Co., Virginia 1745

Deed Book 5, page 26-28

This indenture made the Seventeenth Day of March in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and forty five between Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife of the County of Goochland of the one part and John Harris of the County aforesaid of the other part witnesseth that whereas John Woodson Late of Henrico County deceased was in his Lifetime Seized of and in one certain tract or parcel of Land Containing Two hundred acres be the Same more or lefs and bounded as followeth (Viz) Beginning on the Stephen Woodson lower line of the River thence down the River half a Mile thence into the Woods at Right Angles from the River to the bark line of the Land Surveyed by William Womack thence on that line till it runes opposite with Stephen Woodson Lower Line thence on that line to the River being the place began at Scituate lying and being in Goochland County on the North side of James River opposite to the Manakin Town and the above said John Woodson being thereof Seized did by his certain Last Will and Testament bearing date the twenty fifth day of November One Thousand Seven Hundred and fifteen, give, devise, and bequeath to his Daughter Judith Woodson and to the heirs of her Body ~ lawfully begotten forever the above mentioned Tract of Land together with all the Appurtenances thereupon and there unto belonging by Virtue whereof the said Stephen Cox having Married the abovesaid Judith Woodson together with his Wife after the decease of her father in and on the afore mentioned Land Entered and was and is thereof Seized and now they the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife stands possessed (having Lawfull Issue of the body of the abovesaid Judith Woodson) and the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife being minded to Sell the aforesaid Tract or Parcell of Land and to Barr the Entails hath lately Send out a Writ in the nature of an Adquod Dam Bearing Date the Eleventh Day of June One Thousand Seven Hundred and forty five. In the nineteenth year of our Sovereign Lord the King now to the Sheriff of the said County Directed whereby he was Commanded that by the Oath of good and Lawfull Men of his County by whom the truth of the matter might be the better known he should diligently enquire if it may be to the damage or prejudice of our said Lord the King or others, or not, if the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife should Sell the said parcel of Land with the Appurtenances and if it be to the damage or prejudice of our said Lord the King or others, then to what damage, to our said Lord the King, to what damage or prejudice to others, and of what Value the said Land is in good and Lawfull Money of Great Brittain, and whether the said Land be a Separate parcel of or contiguous to other Entailed Lands in the possession and Seizin of the said Stephen and Judith his Wife, to Which Writ Isaac Bates Gent. Sheriff of the said County answered, that by the Oath of twelve good and lawfull men of the County aforesaid, who being Sworn and charged upon their Oaths, did Say that it will not be to the damage or prejudice of our said Lord the King, if the said Stephen and Judith his Wife should Sell the said Land and premises with the Appurtenances, in the same Writ mentioned, but that it will be to the damage of the heirs of the Body of the said Stephen and Judith his Wife and of those claiming in Remainder and Revertion, and further the Jurors aforesaid upon their Oath a foresaid, did say, the Land and appurtenances in the said Writ mentioned, are of the Value of One hundred and forty pounds of good and Lawfull money of Great Brittain, and no more and is a Separate parcel, and not parcel of, or Contiguous to other Entailed Lands, in the possession and Seizin of the said Stephen and Judith his Wife as by the said recited Writ and return remaining of Record in the Secretarys Office, or fully, and at large, doth, and may appear now this Indenture witnesseth that the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife for in Consideration of the Sum of One hundred and Sixty Pounds Currant money to them in hand paid by the abovesaid John Harris the receipt whereof they doth hereby acknowledge and thereof doth acquit, and Discharge, the aforesaid John Harris his Heirs Excutors and Administrators, have granted, bargained, Sold, Enfeoff and Confirm, unto the said John Harris his Heirs and Aforsign all that parcell of Land in the above mentioned recited Writ and return Containing Two hundred acres be the same more or less with the ~ Appurtenances, and the Reversion and Reversions, Remainder and Remainders thereof, And all the Estate, Right, Title, Interest, Claim and Demand of them the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife of in and to the said Land and every part and parcel thereof with the Appurtenances To have and to hold the said Lands and premises with the Appurtenances, to the said John Harris and his Heirs and Assigns forever and the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife and their heirs the premises with the Appurtenances to the said John Harris his Heirs and Assignes Shall and will Warrant and for Ever defend by these presets in witness whereof the said Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife hath hereunto Set their Hands and Affixed their Seals the day and Year first above written

Signed Sealed and Delivered

In the presents of Stephen Cox (seal)

John Woodson

Francis James Judith Cox (Seal)

Robert Boulton

Memorandum. That on the 17th day of March 1745 that given possession and Seizin was had and taken by the within named John Harris from the within named Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife according to the form and Effect of the within written deed of the within Lands and Premises.

In Presents of Stephen Cox (Seal)

John Woodson. Francis James

Robert Boulton. Judith Cox (Seal)

At a Court held for Goochland County March 18. 1745

Stephen Cox and Judith his Wife She being first privately examined acknowledged this Deed with the Livery of Seizin endors'd to be their Act and Deed which was Ordered to be Recorded

Test. Hen. Wood Clk

Amanuensis - A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

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Sunday's Obituary: Cordie (Burnette) Thompson

Obituary, hand clipped from
unknown newspaper

Mrs. Cordie B. Thompson

     STANFORD (Spl.) - Funeral for Mrs. Cordie Burnette Thompson, 91, of East Main St. in Stanford, will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Beazley-Raney-Speaks Funeral Home in Stanford by the Rev. Charles Jenkins. Burial will be in Buffalo Springs Cemetery.

   She died Sunday morning at Ft. Logan Hospital after a long illness. She was the widow of Morris Thompson and the daughter of the late Cornelius and Ursula Martin Burdette (sic).

     A native of Pulaski County, she was a housewife and member of the Stanford Baptist Church.

     Survivors are one son, M.G. Thompson of Stanford; one daughter, Mrs. Gladys Osborne of Stanford; one grandson, Johnny Thompson of Stanford; two granddaughters, Mrs. James D. Weaver of Lexington and Mrs. Wayne Hazlett of Stanford and three great-grandchildren.

     Friends may call at the funeral home.

Daisy Cordelia (Burnette) Thompson was the half sister of my great grandmother, Sarah (Davis) Wallen. She was married to Morris Milton Thompson on 21 Sept 1904 in Pulaski Co., Kentucky. "Cordie" died 18 Apr 1976 in Lincoln Co., Kentucky. She was mentioned regularly in the diary of my great grandfather, Oliver Morton Wallen.

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John Miller and Ursula Ann (Martin) Davis

John Miller Davis 1874

John Miller Davis and Ursula Ann Martin were my paternal great, great grandparents. They married on October 4, 1874 in Woodstock, Pulaski Co., Kentucky. They had three daughters, Mary (1875), my great grandmother Sarah (1877), and Mallie (1880). John died in 1880 just about 6 weeks after his third daughter was born, at the age of 26. Click here to see John's tombstone.

These photos were likely taken on John and Ursula's wedding day. John was 20 years old, Ursula was 18.

Ursula Ann (Martin) Davis 1874

Ursula remarried in 1884 and had four more children, but when she died in 1900, she was buried next to John as the wife of J. M. Davis. Click here to see her tombstone.

I have very little information about John Davis. His parents were Forney and Mary Ann (Evans) Davis. His father and two of his uncles were casualties of the Civil War. I do not know what John died of but I suspect it was Tuberculosis. His brothers Francis and Leander died shortly after John did in 1882 and 1883, respectively. His mother, Ursula, we know from newspaper articles, died of TB, so it is very possible that this disease took them all as it was prevalent in the area at the time.

The tombstones of John and Ursula were erected in 1904 as indicated in this excerpt from the diary of my great grandfather, Oliver M. Wallen, husband of John and Ursula's daughter Sarah: "Oct 29, 1904.......We put stones to Sarah's father and mother's graves. I furnished the stones..."

Original photos of John and Ursula are owned by my cousin Lewis E. Colyer, grandson of Mallie.

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Sunday's Obituary: Mallie (Davis) Colyer 1955

Mallie Colyer

Malvina Katherine "Mallie" (Davis) Colyer was the daughter of John Miller and Ursula Ann (Martin) Davis. She was the sister of my paternal great grandmother, Sarah Frances (Davis) Wallen-Livesay. Mallie married Harvey Green Colyer on 28 Nov 1901 in Clarence, Pulaski Co., Kentucky. They had two children: Losie Katherine and Leemon Green Colyer.

Newspaper clipping hand dated 1-19-55

Obituary of Mallie Colyer 1955

                                                COLYER

   Mrs. Mallie Katherine Colyer, 75, wife of the late Harvey G. Colyer, died Wednesday afternoon at the home of her son, Leemon Colyer of Woodstock. She had been in poor health for the past six months.

   Mrs. Colyer, the daughter of the late Miller and Ursula Martin Davis, was born at Level Green in Rockcastle County, but spent most of her life in Pulaski County. She was a devout member of the Woodstock Baptist Church for many years.

   Mrs. Colyer is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Alex Shelley, Indianapolis; one son, Leemon Colyer, Woodstock; two sisters, Mrs. M. M. Thompson, and Mrs. C. C. Wilson, both of Stanford.

   Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, at the Woodstock Baptist Church, Rev. Esau Huff officiating. Burial will be in Woodstock cemetery.

Click here to see tombstone of Mallie and Harvey Colyer

Original photo of Mallie owned by her grandson Lewis E. Colyer, son of Leemon.

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