Tombstone Tuesday: John and Mary Martin

John was the brother of my paternal great, great grandmother Ursula Ann (Martin) Davis Burnette. His wife was Mary Martha Thompson, daughter of John and Sarah (Debord) Thompson. They were married in Pulaski Co., Kentucky on 17 Nov 1867.

Mary Martin b.  29 Oct 1844 d. 3 Nov 1907 - John Martin b. 1 Jan 1843 d. 7 Nov 1875
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Pulaski Co., Kentucky

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Wordless Wednesday: Fountain and Mary Rash

Fountain Fox and Mary (Martin) Rash circa 1885
Mary was the sister of my paternal great, great grandmother, 
Ursula Ann  (Martin) Davis Burnette

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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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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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(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: A Heavy Heart

L to R: Sarah Frances (Davis) Wallen/Livesay, Myrtle D. Livesay,
Robert L. "Bobby" Wallen and Iva Illinois "Noy"  (Townsend) Wallen

This photo was taken around September of 1921. On the left is my paternal great grandmother, Sarah, and her youngest child Myrtle. Next is my father, Bobby, who is Sarah's first grandchild, son of her first born son William Jesse Wallen, and her daughter-in-law, Noy, holding my dad. Baby Myrtle was born October 1920 and Baby Bobby (Myrtle's nephew) was born March 1921.

Myrtle is the last living child of my great grandmother. She is 91 years old and sharp as a tack. It is with a heavy heart that I learned just yesterday that she will be leaving us soon and may not see her 92nd birthday. For the past few years, Myrtle has given me the most wonderful encouragement in what I do as far as family history research. Her appreciation has been a joy. In return, Myrtle has helped me to come to a much better understanding of some of the relationships and personalities in family members that I never had the chance to know personally. One of those relationships was that of my grandfather, who all but disappeared from our lives when I was very young and was probably badly misjudged by us all.

Just a few months ago I was able to send Myrtle photos of her maternal grandparents, John Miller and Ursula Ann (Martin) Davis/Burnette that were taken circa 1874. John and Ursula both died long before Myrtle was born and none of us ever knew any photos of them existed until a cousin alerted me that he had uploaded them to FindAGrave.com. Myrtle's joy and elation over seeing those photos was a priceless moment. I was looking forward to sending her more happy discoveries with the release of the 1940 census, but some things will not be discovered until the indexing is complete. 

Time is not on my side.

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Amanuensis Monday: Obituary of Sarah (Davis) Wallen Livesay

SARAH FRANCES (DAVIS) WALLEN LIVESAY

November 25, 1877 - August 23, 1939

Sarah Frances (Davis) Wallen-Livesay
Sarah's daughter Myrtle Livesay Raber, my half grandaunt, sent me this photo of her mother saying: "I believe this must have been taken on her 50th birthday. She had wonderful auburn hair and I remember the dress: it was blue satin."

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

Sarah was my paternal great grandmother. She was the daughter of John Miller Davis and Ursula Ann Martin. The obituary below is transcribed verbatim from a copy of the original obituary which was typed by my grandaunt Sula Wallen Splitek.

Obituary

of Sarah Davis Wallen Livesay

      Mrs. Sarah Livesay died at Cloverdale Indiana August 23, 1939, after a lingering illness.

      Sarah Francis Davis was born at Plato Kentucky on November 25, 1877, and was 61 years, 8 months and 28 days of age when she passed away.

      She was married to Oliver Morton Wallen of Wabd Ky., in May 1900, and he preceded her in death 32 years ago. By this union five children were born.

      In September 1916 She was married to John Lloyd Livesay of Mt. Vernon Kentucky, and by this union two children were born. She is survived by all seven of her children who are

      William Jesse Wallen,     Terre Haute, Indiana.

      Thomas Miller Wallen,     St. Joseph, Missouri.

      Mrs. Frank Splitek,       Huron, South Dakota.

      Charles Homer Wallen,     Chicago, Illinois.

      James Hobart Wallen,      Saybrook, Illinois.

      Ross Dudley Livesay,      Cloverdale, Indiana.

      Myrtle Davis Livesay,     Cloverdale, Indiana.

Also her husband, J.L. Livesay of Cloverdale Ind. one sister, Mrs. Harvey Colyer, Elgin, Kentucky, two half sisters, Mrs. Morris Thompson, Craborchard Ky., and Mrs. Chester Wilson, Stanford Ky., a half brother Hobart Burnette in Kentucky; fourteen grandchildren, and a host of friends and relatives.

      She became a member of the Baptist Church at an early age and was a sincere and devoted christian all her life.

      For the past nine years she and her family have resided on a farm at Cloverdale Ind., But she has also lived in Texas, Illinois, and Kentucky, and was loved and respected by all that knew her.

      There are many pupils in her ten years as a teacher in the rural schools of Kentucky that can testify that she started them out on the Christian road, and she was an influence for good on all that came in contact with her.

      One shining example is Rev. Fred Hicks of Indianapolis, Indiana, who was her pupil in school, and Preached at her funeral. The services were conducted at the Methodist Church and the remains were laid to rest in the Cloverdale cemetery.

      Her five sons were pallbearers.

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Tombstone Tuesday: Cornelius Donaldson Burnette 1832 - 1901

Burnett Chapel Cemetery, Pulaski Co., Kentucky ~ Spring 1999

Cornelius Donaldson "Neelie" Burnette - Second husband of my great, great grandmother Ursula Ann Martin Davis.

My paternal great, great grandmother Ursula Ann was the daughter of James Monroe and Susannah Grabeel Martin. Ursula Ann married John Miller Davis, son of James and Achsah Jackson Davis, in 1874. John Miller Davis died in 1880 and four years later in 1884 Ursula Ann married Cornelius Donaldson Burnette. Cornelius was married previously to Elizabeth Elam and at least six children were produced from that union. Children of Ursula Ann and Cornelius D. are: Daisy Cordelia, Cora Jane, Hobart Cornelius, and Amanda Ursula. Ursula Ann died in 1900 and Cornelius died in 1901. Ursula Ann's daughter and her husband, my great grandparents, Sarah Frances Davis and Oliver Morton Wallen, became guardians of the four half siblings of Sarah Frances.

Some excerpts from the diary of Oliver Morton Wallen:

"Jan. 4, 1901 - Hauled two loads of wood. Wade Mullins came (for) Sarah and I. Mr. Burnette was very bad, he died at 12 P.M. that night.  Jan. 5 - Staid at Mr. Burnette's place most of the day. Took dinner with J. B. Cummins. Sarah and I staid all night with James Denny.  Jan. 6 - Freemasons buried Mr. Burnette at Burnette's Chappel. Rev. Powel preached the funeral. Sarah and I attended the funeral."

"Mar. 26 [1901] - Went from Mt. Vernon to Brodhead and got W. H. Sowder to go on a bond for me to be appointed guardian for Cordia, Cora, Hobert, and Sula Burnette. Went to Mt. Vernon and received the appointment. "

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