Tombstone Tuesday: Susannah Grabeel Martin

SUSANNAH GRABEEL MARTIN

June 27, 1819 - July 14, 1906

Woodstock Cemetery, Pulaski Co., Kentucky

Inscription:
Wife of J.M. Martin
~~~~~
"Sleep on dear mother, peaceful be thy rest. 
Thou art gone to bask in the joys of the blest."

Susannah was my paternal 3rd great grandmother. She was born in Lee Co., Virginia to Jacob and Mary Grabeel. Susannah married James Monroe Martin on March 30, 1842 in Claiborne Co., Tennessee. The Martins settled in Pulaski Co., Kentucky between 1857 and 1859. They had 10 children: John, Lucinda Jane, Mary, Catherine, Nancy Eliza, William Franklin, Ursula Ann, Sarah Nelson, Rebecca Frances and James Daniel Sherman.

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Tombstone Tuesday: James Monroe Martin

JAMES MONROE MARTIN  

July 6, 1809 - February 22, 1897

 Woodstock Cemetery, Pulaski Co., Kentucky

James Monroe Martin was my paternal third great grandfather, son of John and Mary Cooper Martin, husband of Susannah Grabeel. He was born in Rose Hill, Lee Co., Virginia and is listed in the Will of his father John Martin, who fought in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. James and Susannah had 10 children: John, Lucinda Jane, Mary, Catherine, Nancy Eliza, William Franklin, Ursula Ann, Sarah Nelson, Rebecca Frances and James Daniel Sherman.

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Amanuensis Monday: James Sherman Martin Writes Own Obituary

James Daniel Sherman Martin

June 27, 1864 - February 12, 1946

About Amanuensis Monday: John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog started a Monday Blog Theme called "Amanuensis Monday". John defines "amanuensis" as "a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

James S. Martin was the brother of my great great grandmother Ursula Ann Martin Davis Burnett. Their parents were James Monroe and Susannah Grabeel Martin. James was married to Sarah Elizabeth Testerman, daughter of John T. and Celia Bloomer Testerman. He and Sarah lived their entire lives in Pulaski Co., Kentucky. The obituary and poem below, written by James himself, was transcribed and copied for me by Kathy Martin, wife of my cousin Larry Martin, great great grandson of James. I have copied Kathy's transcription verbatim.

Obituary of James Sherman Martin

"Aug. 9, 1945 - Obituary of James Sherman Martin son of James M. and Susana Grabeel Martin. Born June 27 1864. Married to Elizzie Testerman March 20th, 1884. Born to the union were five children, two girls and three boys. Susan Ellen now Susan Ellen Lampe. Addie Lewis Oneal. Isaac Bradley, James Thomas, and Charles Ross. Four children living to date, with Isaac Martin departing this life Oct. 27, 1945. 21 grandchildren, 18 living and 3 dead. 27 great grandchildren all living. Met my Lord in full pardon of my sins on the second Monday in Aug. 1882, united with the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church near that date, and was baptised on Brush Creek the following Sunday after uniting with the church by the Rev. John Carmicle. My membership remaining at Mt. Pleasant Church until Dec. 1888, when I moved my membership to Pleasant Hill Church at Woodstock. Have tried to live a christian life for 63 years. Have met with temptations, trials and persecutions on the way. But all praise to my blessed Savior & Lord, by His grace & according to His mercy I have been able to overcome through Him that died for my sins, & arose for my justifications. He has blessed my soul many times with the presence & power of the Holy Spirit & then He has chastised me for my neglect of His work & service. But praise His name, when I like the prodical son, came back to Him, He like a loving Father met and blessed my soul again and now I can only say in my closing days like the Psalmist of old, let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord of my soul. My closing testimony to all. J. S. Martin"

A farewell poem for friends 

composed by James a short time after he wrote his obituary

"To my Christian friends anywhere - Aug. 25, 1945

My Christian friends in bond & love

Thru Him who lives & reigns above

Who came to earth His life to give

And shed His blood that we might live

My years to date is eighty one

My race on earth is almost run

My Christian life is sixty three

My wearied soul will soon be free

And then I'll sore to worlds on high

To meet my loved ones in the sky

For e'r I dwell in Heaven above

Where all is joy & peace & love

As promised by His saving grace

We'll see our Savior face to face

And in His love our souls shall rest

And we shall be forever blessed

His nail scarred hand & riven side

As on the cross He bled & died

He gave His life for you & me

And gave His blood to set us free

O, blessed thought O, glorious hope

As thru this world we sadly grope

That in His blood there's power to save

And give us life beyond the grave

And now I pray:

Dear Father hasten that glad day

and free our souls from this lump of clay

and our bodies rest till you bid us rise

to meet our Savior in the skies

When we can meet on Heaven's shore

to feel the sting of death no more

When in His presence there to dwell

to never say no more, farewel

Yours in Christ, J. S. Martin"

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Amanuensis Monday: The Will of Achsah Jackson Davis 1877 Pulaski Co., Kentucky

About Amanuensis Monday: John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog started a Monday Blog Theme called "Amanuensis Monday". John defines "amanuensis" as "a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

~Achsah Jackson Davis 1796 - 1877~

James and Achsah Jackson Davis were the paternal great grandparents of Sarah Frances Davis Wallen, my paternal great grandmother.

Will of Achsah Davis (typewritten will - copied here verbatim):


August the 16th 1877


I, Achsah Davis will and bequath all my House hold and kitchen property to James R. C. Lathim and Sarah M. Hamblin my beloved grand sone and daughter first to James R. C. Lathim my clock and table and bedstid wool wheel and hatchel Then to Sarah M. Hamblen my press and bedstead and bead and bed clothes and brass Kettle and worping spools little wheel & check reel and I wish the two children James R. C. Lathim and Sarah M. Hamblen to divide my pot vesels and cupboard ware between themselves allso the claim I have on the Government I wish James R. C. Lathim and Sarah M. Hamblen to divide equal between themselves and the chairs is to be equal divided the waggon I will to James R. C. Lathim and the farming tools This is my last will and testimony to which I set my Seal and commit my soul to heaven.   
                                                            
Attest                                                                Achsah    X    Davis
Josiah Brady                                                                her mark
H. P. Broyles
G. W. Burnett


State of Kentucky
Pulaski County


I, E. W. Porch, Clerk of the Pulaski County Court, do certify that the foregoing writing purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Achsah Davis deceased, was produced in open court at the regular November Term 1877 of the Pulaski CountyCourt, and proven according to law by the oaths of Josiah Brady & G. W. Burnett, two of the subscribing witnesses to said writing, and was adjudged by the court to be the true last Will and Testament of Achsah Davis deceased, and ordered to be recorded as such, and that I have recorded it and this certificate in my said office.
Given under my hand, this 22nd day of November 1877.
E. W. Porch, Clerk


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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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Amanuensis Monday: The Will of James Davis 1865 Pulaski Co., Kentucky

About Amanuensis Monday: John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog started a Monday Blog Theme called "Amanuensis Monday". John defines "amanuensis" as "a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

~James Davis 1796 - 1865~

James and Achsah Jackson Davis were the paternal great grandparents of Sarah Frances Davis Wallen, my paternal great grandmother.

Will of James Davis:

Know all men by these presents that I, James Davis, of the County of Pulaski and State of Kentucky, being of sound mind but in bad health and viewing the uncertainty of life, have made this my last will and testament. In the first place I will my soul to the Lord Who gave it me and my body to be decently buried in it's Mother, Earth. 

2d  It is my will that my Executor, herein after named, shall proceed to collect my debts due me and, as soon as can be done, pay off all my own debts and satisfy all the claims that justly come against my estate. 

3d  It is my will that my wife, Achsah Davis, have my farm and all my property, real and personal, of every description, that may be left after the payment of my debts, for her support during her natural life and that she has the entire controll and management of the same and, if circumstances should ever require it for her well doing, she may sell and convey the land and manage the whole matter as may best suit her judgment.

4th  It is my will that after the death of my wife, Achsah Davis, that all and every species of property left by her shall be sold and the money collected by my Executors and distributed in following manner:

1st  That Joseph Alexander Davis, son of my daughter Sarah Ann Roe, have two hundred and fifty dollars given to him. 

2d  That Achsah Pain Davis, daughter of my son John Davis, have fifty dollars given her whenever she becomes of age.

3d  That Sarah Melvina Hamlin, daughter of Darkey Hamlin, have two hundred and fifty dollars paid her when she shall be come of age.

4th  That Leander Sizemore, son of Furney Davis have twenty-five dollars given him when he becomes of age.

5th  That Thomas Hoskins, son of Furney Davis, have twenty-five dollars given him when he shall become of age.

6th That my Grand children by my daughter, Frances Burnet, have fifty dollars each paid to them as soon as they become of age.

*8th  And that after paying out the above sum of money, all that be left of my estate to be paid to my grand son, James R. C. Lathum, whenever he becomes of age. Now it is my will that if any of the above named grand children should die before they shall become of age that their part as above mentioned shall be equally divided among the brothers and sisters of said legatee. Now, be it known that it has been my object to make an equal division of my worldly effects among all my children and those not mentioned in this my last will and testament have all had their parts given them heretofore. And, lastly, it is my will that my good friends I. S. Evans and D. O. Gibson be appointed my Executors in witness whereoff I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this the 5th day of December 1864.

Attest
Thomas Head
Wiley Cash
Lafayette Sproul

James Davis (seal)

Back of last page:

James Davis
Last Will
1865 February 28th
Proven by the oaths of
Wiley Cash and
Layfayette Sproul, two
of the subscribing witnesses
to said will release to record
Att E. D. Perch Clk
Recorded in Book
No 6 Page 394

*[There was no number 7 in this Will.]
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Wordless Wednesday: Grave Yard Dawg

Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

Pulaski Co., Kentucky 1999

Silent as a ghost, this dog followed my mother and I around the cemetery when we visited in the Spring of 1999. He never came close but seemed to want to hang out with us. I still remember the heavenly scent of  honeysuckle at this old burying ground.

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Tombstone Tuesday: Achsah Jackson Davis 1796 - 1877

Biblical Reference for the given name "Achsah"....

Joshua 15: 17-19 Caleb said,

"Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it,

to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife."

Othniel son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it;

and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.

When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field.

As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her,

"What do you wish?"

She said to him,

"Give me a present.

Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb,

give me springs of water as well."

So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

Achsah Jackson, my paternal fourth great grandmother, was born April 4, 1796 in Ashe Co., North Carolina. She married James Davis on September 16, 1819 in Washington Co., Virginia and died September 12, 1877 in Pulaski Co., Kentucky. Children: Sarah Ann, John L., William J., Francis K., Forney J., Dorcas B., Frances, and Mary Jane. Buried Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Pulaski Co., Kentucky.

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Pioneers To Indian Territory 1881

~A 1938 INTERVIEW WITH FANNY SUTTON WALLEN~

From Kentucky, to Texas, to Indian Territory 1881-1938

Mary Frances "Fanny" Sutton was married to my 3rd great uncle, Isaac Newton "Ike" Wallen. Ike and my third great grandfather Jesse B. Wallen were brothers. Fanny was also related by blood through our common ancestors Jonas Sutton, Jr. and his wife Sarah. Jonas's son Micajah is mentioned below. Micajah was married to Eleanor Haggard and he and another of my 3rd great Grandfathers, Uriah Sutton, were brothers.

Ike was probably a practical joker of sorts considering a picture we have of him posing naked.  Now I know where my dad and my brothers got their "Wallen" sense of humor! This picture was probably taken between 1885-1895 in either Cooke Co., Texas or Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). 

     The Interview

INDIAN PIONEER PAPERS

Interview 10593

Interviewed by Ethel B. Tackitt, dated 22 April 1938 (8 pages)

Lone Wolf Kiowa County

Mrs Mary Francis Sutton Wallen, Hobart OK

Born 8 December 1856, Pulaski County Kentucky

Father: Andrew Jackson Sutton, born in Kentucky

Mother: Martha Ann Gasteneau, born in Kentucky

        "I was born in Pulaski county Kentucky December 8, 1856.  My father Andrew Jackson Sutton and mother Martha Ann Gasteneau were both natives of Pulaski county Kentucky and member of pioneer Kentucky families.


My Father's Father, Micajah Sutton had established a tan yard for making leather and leather articles at a very early date in the history of Kentucky in a valley 6 miles East of Somerset, Pulaski county Kentucky and here grandfather reared his family teaching each one to work in the tan yard and thereby providing a living as all work was done by the family.


This valley was well watered not by creeks but by wells of wonderfully sweet good water and when I can first remember there were 300 tanning vats and sheds with all the equipment which went with such an extensive plant.  All parts were operated by hand as there was not one bit of machinery in the whole establishment.  


The hides were lowered into these vats which were about 15' deep by 10' square boarded up on the inside with heavy timbers while at each corner was a heavy piece of square timbers called a plug which was raised when it was desired for that the vat be drained and cleaned to make ready for another pack of hides.  These vats were dug into the ground but were so constructed that the stale water would run out at the bottom.

              After the hides were well soaked so that the flesh adhering to the under side and the hair would slip off when the hand operated scraper was used on tem they were ready for the leather making process which was that of the old German kind which was used in Germany and put in practice by my grandfather Micajah Sutton.


            My father purchased 800 acres of land near him just to secure the tan bark off the chestnut, oak and read oak trees as this bark is what they used for tanning.  Lamp black and fish oil were also used on the leather.

             I worked in the tan yard also, when a child and a young woman.  Harness and leather horse collars were also made here by hand.  I have stuffed the wheat straw into many, many horse collars as that was usually my job.  I can think of nothing that stinks like that tan yard and if a person was not accustom to the smell he or she could hardly endure working there, but of course, our family was brought up to do this sort of work.


When the civil war came up my father was not drafted because of his operating this tan yard, neither was it ever destroyed by either army.  I remember on one November 23 during the war that twenty five Union soldiers came to our home, all very ill of dysentery and remained two days and 2 nights until all but one was well enough to travel.  The one was left and we took care of him the best we could, until some Confederate soldiers came and took him away and father feared that the man would be killed but eight months later, we received a letter from him stating he had been freed and sent to his home.

       After the war my Folks hired Negroes to work in the tan yard and there were two who worked there a long time but the most of the work was still done by the family. When I was 24 and had married, my husband and I left Kentucky and came to Texas, there we lived until 1889 and then in 1890 we moved three miles south of Ardmore in the Chicasaw Indian Nation and with us we brought a wagon loaded with hogs and chickens and nothing else and in the other covered wagon we had our bedding, cooking utensils and our clothes. We leased land from the Jackson Brothers who controlled twelve thousand acres of land in Clear Creek bottom. The land was very productive, the corn grew fine, long ears and the cotton was also fine, but prices were low and there was so little market for either corn or cotton that there was no money in the country.

        Having grown up as I have told you about, working in the tan yard and doing all kinds of farm work. I was able to look after my children and to plant a garden to help provide food. I would take the children and go out into the woods and gather post oak grapes, wild plums and currants for we were accustomed to having plenty of fruit and doing with out fruit was a hardship to me. There were very few orchards in the country at that time and those which were growing were on old home places that had belonged to the Indian families.

        I was not very happy for the country was so wild and unsettled that there was nothing for women and children but loneliness and work as the land could not belong to the white people there was no incentive to build more on a place than was required by the lease, which was for so many years, usually five, and then a person would either have to rent it or move to another lease and improve it in the same way.

        Our stock did well as they ran at large but it was several years before the country settled up and we could have a subscription school and that was for only two or four months in the year and for that reason my children were able to get little education which was of great grief to me. I am now 81 years old and 48 of those years have been spent in Oklahoma. My husband has passed on and I am living with my daughter Mrs. Lillie Hulsey, who was born in Oklahoma and has lived here all her life. Some things are better now than when I first came to the country but I think it is harder for people to make a living at this time."

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The "Saga" of Oliver's Diary

In my very first blog post I said I would tell about the saga of the original Diary of Oliver Morton Wallen, my paternal great Grandfather. Rather than tell the story myself I will relate the story that my Dad's first cousin told me, in his own words. Charlie gave me permission back in 1999 to post the following as I saw fit. It is a revision of Charlie's first efforts. He and I worked on it together to make it more readable. This "History" in it's entirety was to be included with the newly completed transcription of the Diary when I was finished with it. I have omitted here most of the full names to help protect the privacy of the living.

A HISTORY OF THE DIARY OF OLIVER M. WALLEN

As told by Charles Homer Wallen Jr.

"When Oliver died in January 1907 his diary remained in the possession of his Widow Sarah until her death in August 1939. I don’t know the details of why, but when Sarah died the diary went to her youngest son Hobart, where it remained until his death in June 1987.

When Hobart died his second son David acted as the executor of his father’s estate. For reasons known only to him, David gave the diary to Debra, the oldest child of Darrell. Darrell is Hobart's fourth and youngest son.

I first became acquainted with the existence of Oliver’s diary in 1982 when I received a condensed version of it from my aunt, Sula. Sula had transcribed this copy from the original diary, omitting parts of it at her discretion. (I credit this copy of the diary from Sula as the beginning of two things: my interest in the genealogy of my family and my interest in locating the whereabouts of the original, handwritten diary.) Hobart, I was to discover later, made a second, fully complete transcription of the diary.

So, I began my hunt. Sula told me the diary was still in Hobart's possession so I made requests by mail and telephone asking him if he would mail it to me that I might copy and return it. These requests were refused, no reason given. Years passed and so did Hobart.

During a telephone conversation with David in March 1999 I learned how he had given the diary to Debra after his father died. At my request David gave me Debra’s address and telephone number. In the meantime Dale, Hobarts’s third son graciously sent me the transcription of the diary done by his dad to copy and return at my leisure.

I called Debra and talked to her about giving me the opportunity to make a photocopy of the diary. Debbie made it very clear that she would not allow the diary to leave her possession. After a number of telephone calls, covering a period of about three months, Debbie agreed to go to a professional copying business and have a copy made provided I would send her the money to cover all expenses. I agreed and on June 22, 1999 my quest was ended with a photocopy of the original, handwritten diary in the mail from Debra."

Charles Homer Wallen, Jr.

June 25, 1999

The original diary was contained in four separate “books”. These books consisted of three English composition books and a small ledger style book. 

As family research colleague of Charlie Wallen (now deceased), I am presently working on a new transcription of Oliver's diary. Nothing will be omitted. All wording and spelling will be left as they were written and it will be fully indexed. The first three "books" are completed and were done with Charlie's help. I have the fourth book, the book that includes Oliver's move to Texas to complete and the index will be done after that. This has been a slow and painstaking effort. Each new person mentioned has been fully investigated to see what connections might be found, friend or family. This practice has led to many discoveries of family connections that I might not have made otherwise. It is my hope to finish this diary in 2010 and to publish it in some way so that other researchers will have free access to it. The Diary contains hundreds of names from the Rockcastle and Pulaski county areas of Kentucky and the fourth book has many references to people from the Cooke, Denton and Sutton counties of Texas. 


I have been encouraged by some that I should make money from my work, but in the spirit of genealogists everywhere, and in the spirit of "what goes around comes around", I will resist that temptation even though times are hard. I feel certain Oliver would have wanted it that way.

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