Larkin Waters

Larkin Waters was born in 1802 to John Jackson Watters and Mary Cleveland.  (For now, I go with the assumption that he was born in Franklin county, GA.)

1826 appears to find Larkin on the Georgia Property Tax Digest.  This one is difficult to decipher but it appears to sell property to Cleveland Payne?  It’s difficult to say because there’s another document that seems to discuss a different land transaction Larkin and Ruth had with Kenneth and Elizabeth McKenzie.  Elizabeth McKenzie was Ruth’s mother who’d married Kenneth after her father Cleveland Payne had passed away in 1808.

His children are Harriett Nancy, Katherine, Margaret, Mary, John, Elizabeth, John Larkin Cleveland Payne, Tolerst, Catherina, Hortenst, Mary Elizabeth, and John Larkin.  It would be a fair assumption to make that Larkin and Ruth got married before Harriett Nancy was born in 1825.  The 1830 Census indicates that Larkin had two female children under 5 (if we have in fact found the correct person).  This also has them living in Franklin county, Georgia.  By 1840, they are listed in the Federal Census as living in Randolph county, Alabama.  I found and “Alabama, Homestead and Cash Entry Patent” dated October 1, 1845.  I’d have to research it more but this seems to indicate the acquiring of more land for the family.  The 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 Census records still find them living in Randolph county, Alabama.  1850 lists the specific location as Beat 5.  1860 says Northern Division.  1870 says Rockdale and 1880 says Morrisons.  These are probably all the same place/ area, just with different names at the different time with it being a rural area.

Larkin passed away January 28, 1895.  There’s the monument at the Waters Family Cemetery that lists him and several family members, but I’m still unsure as to the exactly location of his buriual (whether it’s there or elsewhere, I’m guessing there).  The U.S. Veterans Gravesites, circa 1775-2006 database lists him as “PVT US ARMY INDIAN WARS” with his burial being in the Waters Cemetery in Wedowee, AL 36278.  That probably refers to the Creek War of 1836 as best I can tell.

I think that at least the death date for John Robert Larkin is mistaken for who I believe is an uncle that lived next door to them at one point.

John Larkin Cleveland Payne Waters

Let me just preface this by saying that the surname is likely going to be found as either Waters or Watters or both when it comes to a lot of things around this generation.  And likely many before and maybe a couple since!  So there’s your genealogy PSA for the day!  🙂  Don’t be TOO adamant about spelling when it comes to names.  There really are all kinds of reasons why names might not be spelled the way “you’ve always spelled it”… and probably even a bunch I haven’t thought about or run across yet!

John Larkin Cleveland Payne… okay, we’ll call him JL… was born sometime in 1844 to Larkin and Rutha (Ruth)(nee Payne) Waters.  You’ll see from the records that it’s not crystal clear if he was born in Franklin, Georgia or Randolph county, Alabama.  The 1850 Federal Census finds him living with his parents in Beat 5, Randolph county, Alabama, and lists his birthplace as Alabama.  While this census does list siblings, it’s all girls: Elizabeth (18), Catharine (16), Margaret (15), and Hariet (12).  The 1860 Federal Census, however, lists his birthplace as Georgia, bringing us back to Franklin as the birthplace.  In 1860 he is living with his parents and older sister, “Margarett”, and a baby named “E.W.”.  A couple of interesting things…  based on the age of Margarett and the baby, as well as the gap between JL and E.W., my guess would be that the baby is Margarett’s.  Also, the location it lists for their home is “Northern Division, Randolph, Alabama” and the post office is listed as Rockdale.  My guess is that they must have lived in the northern part of Randolph county pretty close to Rockdale.

Sometime before 1870 and most likely between 1860 and 1864, JL married Mary Elizabeth “Shug” Lashley.  Their oldest child I found listed in a record was Mary Ellen who was about 6 years old at the time of the 1870 Federal Census.  His son, John Robert Larkin, was 4 years old at that time and the middle child.  Listed is Ruth P. or “Ruthy” who was about one year old.  They are listed as living in Rockdale, Randolph county, Alabama with their post office being in Milner.  (Interesting since Rockdale was the post office of record for his family in the 1860 Federal Census.)  By 1880, the Federal Census has them living in Morrisons, Randolph county, Alabama.  The household consisted of JL, Shug, Mary Ellen, John Robert Larkin, Ruthy, and had added Catherine, Joseph P., Hammet M., and George L. to the family.  I’m sorry to say that at this point Granpa JL has been bedridden for two years and can not work.  Mary Ellen is also listed as “diseased” which could mean any number of things in that day and age but obviously indicates something was wrong and had impacted her health/ abilities in some way.  With the records from the 1890 Federal Census having been destroyed by fired and JL passing away in 1892, there are no further Federal Census records for him.

Information regarding his passing and bits of his life are recorded in what appears to be an obituary for Shug.

 

There is also a little bit recorded on a monument that was erected for the family in 1996.  I’ve posted it before, but I’ll add it here again.

I think that at least the death date for John Robert Larkin is mistaken for who I believe is an uncle that lived next door to them at one point.

The obit and the monument are both a bit fascinating with all the details they seem to uncover.  One of the things I have not added to the tree on Ancestry.com is JL’s Civil War history… should get on that! 🙂

“Who Do You Think You Are?”

I am TOTALLY excited about the new season of “Who Do You Think You Are?” starting tomorrow night on TLC!  It’s airing at 9PM Eastern and I’d really encourage you to tune in and see what they find out.  Tomorrow night starts with Kelly Clarkson.  (Psst, I notice the last name Rose and Ohio Civil War record in her preview…  🙂  )  It looks like Christina Applegate is up next.  Check out this article for more names.

So, why do I watch this.  First, because I love following their journey and excited in finding out their own family history.  I know how it excites me to find that one more document or another piece of information.  Second, you learn a bit about our country’s history.  Part of their family history is U.S. history as well.  Why did someone’s grandfather up and move to California? (Was it the gold rush?)  Why did they move one state over?  (Was it a land grant or lottery?)  Part of it is the world history as well.  Not everyone’s family has been here for decades or centuries.  Why did they come?  (My husband’s family were French Huguenots as best we can tell who left and went to Germany and came from there to America.  Religious reasons?)  Another reason is the tricks of the trade.  It’s interesting to see the actual documents they find and to find out what else is out there that I haven’t even run across yet in my searching.  (Did you know about the Salt Lists from the Civil War?  Yep, found Georgia ones with family listed!)

You’d be surprised what they learn and where they go in search of information.  What would YOU like to learn?  Tune in and see if you can find out more from them, too!

“Granpa Jack”

Okay, Granpa Jack is the difficult one!!  So here’s what I think I’ve figured out…

This is one part of a photo of both my Granpa Jack and Granpa Jesse.

Granpa Jack (John Worsham) was born April 1838 to Daniel and Alsey (Joiner) Worsham.  He is listed as having been born in Georgia from what records seem to say.  In 1850 he is listed as living with Daniel and Alsey in Marion county, Georgia.  1860 finds the family living in Militia District 743, Taylor county, Georgia.  From what I can make of records, he married Elizabeth Johnson on March 7, 1861.  She was his second wife but I have yet to find anything on a first wife.

Let’s look at a couple of things before we get to the Civil War episode of his life.  There are two children listed as living with Granpa Jack and Granma Elizabeth: Orren (1857) and Sissy (1859).  So these children were born before they got married.  So the question now is if they were illegitimate (born out of wedlock) or if they are Granma Elizabeth’s from a prior marriage.  I can’t seem to find documentation either way.  It could also be that the date for the marriage (March 7, 1861).  I think what some are guessing is that these are not he and Granma Elizabeth’s children, thus a first marriage before her.  At this point, any of these are possibilities.

Two of my 3g grandfathers, Jesse Hobby (left) and John “Jack” Worsham (right).

Documenting his time in the Civil War has been very difficult.  Because I have no middle name for him, that adds a difficulty to this.  I think I have narrowed down which unit he was with by process of elimination; however, I’m not sure sure I have proof positive.  I have found documentation on his two older brothers and next youngest: James Monroe “Daniel”, William Henry, John “Jack”, then Young Stokes.  I’ll write more on the documentation I’ve found that I feel pertains to him later.

This is Jesse Hobby, Civil War soldier and father of Lue Hobby.

Above is the photo of Jesse Hobby, my other 3g grandfather in this same line.  His daughter, Eliza Lucretia, is who married Granpa Jack’s son, John.  I definitely have Granpa Jesse as having served in the Civil War and surrendering at Appomatox Court House.  It’s very interesting that the children of these two Civil War Veterans would end up marrying; however, the Hobby and Worsham families did not live too far apart!

1870 found Granpa Jack listed as living in Gatlins, Macon county, Georgia.  The family seemed to have moved by 1880 to Cedar Creek, Taylor county, Georgia.  Per usual, there are no 1890 Federal Census records.  It appears that he married Julia on November 16, 1893.  This is confirmed in the 1900 Federal Census where they are listed as living in “Militia Districts 853, 1071, Howard, Cedar Creek, Taylor, Georgia”.  I do have the 1910 Federal Census showing them as living in  Ideal, Macon county, Georgia with son James Collier.  I have not found him/ them in the 1920 or 1930 Federal Census.  The death date I have is January 15, 1931, for now that’s not documented.  And I haven’t managed to pin down his burial location, thought I have “potentials” from Findagrave.com that I’ll look into.

**If you happen to know where CEDAR CREEK, Taylor county, Georgia, is present day, PLEASE contact me.  I’m curious as to it’s whereabouts.**

Worsham/ Wishum line… the ladies!

So I realized that I listed the men of the family line, but not the women.  So here goes, the ladies who married the men of the line I’m planning to blog.

Thomas Edgar Wishum (1897-1982) married Mary Lizzie (Elizabeth?) Massey

John Collier Worsham  (1872-1940) married Eliza Lucretia Hobby

John “Jack” Worsham (1838-1931) married Elizabeth Johnson (and a Julia, after?)

Daniel Worsham (1814-1891) married Alsey Joiner

Daniel B. Worsham (1791-1835) married Caroline Fowler

David Worsham (1765-1815) married  Martha Smith

Henry Worsham (1740-1795) married Martha Jackson

Charles Worsham II (1687-1735) married Elizabeth Archer

Charles Worsham I (1660-1729) married Mary Beville

John William Worsham (1625-1660) married Elizabeth Littlebery

John William Worsham (1594-1660) married Nancy Bennett

William Worsham (1552-1661) married Susan Taylor

I only “think” this is all correct.  Some of the later pieces I just can’t say definitively.  I found the info elsewhere and my not have documentation specifically on these persons.  That said, I do have some.

Lost and Found – John Wilson

“John Wilson – colored help” is about all I knew, it’s all Gunga wrote…

It’s been several months now since I snagged the boxes and envelopes from my Tata’s apartment.  (Tata is what I call my grandmother, my mom’s mother.)  Heehee… I’m a stinker and still have them, but she doesn’t mind!  Some of them were actually her mother’s, my Gunga.  The one above being amongst those from Gunga herself.  All Gunga had written on it was that his name was John Wilson and he was colored help.  I still would love to find out who his family is.  I would love to share a copy of this with them.  But I still have some investigating to do.

After some work, here’s a few things I’ve managed to deduce… I think?!  This photo appears to be from about 1920- 1930.  The plant in the back is castor bean.  Possibly sold to or used by the local pharmacist, whom Granpapa Elijah Jr happened to be related to.  I managed to find him in some census records and draft cards with a little help.  He was a drayman for Granpapa Elijah Jr’s grocery story, Cochran Grocer, there in Cochran, Georgia.  his birthday appears to be November 15, 1873.  He was married to a Phebe Ann Porter as best I can tell, but I’m not sure the daughter (Lela Verseois Porter) is his and not just hers since the last name is Porter.

I’ll have to comment more if I find more at some point… but PLEASE leave a message or contact me if you have information!!  Thank you…

“Granpa John”

This is really where my discoveries start.  I think I mentioned last post that I remembered meeting Granddaddy Buddy a few times at his house in Doles.  Through Ancestry.com and a website on our family genealogy, I discovered that his father was John Collier Worsham, born June 1872 in Manchester, Meriweather county, Georgia.  His parents were John “Jack” and Elizabeth (Johnson) Worsham.

This may be one of my fave photos of him… and the only one of just him I’ve seen.

He married Eliza Lucretia Hobby, daughter of Jesse and Eliza Amanda (Simpson) Hobby, in 1895.  He was 23, she was 18.  They had a total of 12 children: James Ambrose, Thomas Edgar, Jessie Ivey, Susie Mae, Lillie Pearl, Mamie Lee, Essie Vee, Johnny Jackson, Lester Ree, Ollie Dyce, Elbert Julian, John William.

Granpa John, Granma Lou, and their children…

While Granpa John was born in Meriweather county, the 1880 Federal Census finds the Worsham family living in Cedar Creek, Taylor county, Georgia.  After marrying Granma Lou in 1895, the 1900 Federal Census finds them with their family settled in Militia District 1044, Worth county, Georgia.  All the subsequent Federal Census records show them living in the same district, with the exception that the 1940 one lists them in Sylvester, Worth county, Georgia.

It’s interesting to note that the 1940 Federal Census was taken on April 1, 1940, and Granpa John passed away June 1, 1940.  He’s buried in Providence Primitive Baptist Cemetery with several other close and more distant family members of his.  Interestingly, Granma Lou is NOT buried beside him.  She is buried at Red Oak Missionary Baptist Church where her parents and other family are buried.  (She passed away before him in 1922.)

“Granddaddy Buddy”

In the middle of this photo wearing a hat is my Granddaddy Buddy.  Well, he’s actually my great grandfather on my father’s side.  The little girl on the far left is Mamie Lee (Wishum) Britt.  Granma Lou (Eliza Lucretia Hobby) is holding (Elbert) Julian.  Standing in front of Granddaddy Buddy (Thomas Edgar Wishum) is Lester Ree (Wishum)(Whiddon) Ford.  Granpa John (Collier Worsham, later John William Worsham) is holding Johnny Jackson (Wishum).  The older boy in the back is (James) Ambros Wishum, who is standing behind Essie Vee (Wishum) Branch.  Based on the look of the ages of Julian and Johnny Jackson, this photo is circa 1916.

Granddaddy Buddy was born July 28, 1897 in Worth county, Georgia, to John Collier Worsham and Eliza Lucretia (Hobby) Worsham.  He was the second oldest of 12 children.  His only older sibling was Ambros.  After him, in order, was Jessie Ivey, Susie Mae, Lillie Pearl, Mamie Lee, Essie Vee, Johnny Jackson, Lester Ree, Ollie Dyce, Elbert Julian, and John William.

This photo needs cropping!  🙂

In the 1900 Federal Census record, he’s listed as two years old living in Militia District 1044, Worth, Georgia.  In the 1910 Federal Census record, he’s listed as thirteen and still in Militia District 1044, Worth, Georgia.  (Notice that his birthday probably explains the one year discrepancy with the age.)  In the 1920 Federal Census, he’s listed as twenty-two and single living with his parents in Doles, Worth, Georgia.  The 1930 Federal Census lists him as married to “Lizzie” with two children, “L E” and “Mary L”.  Granma Lizzie was Mary Lizzie (Elizabeth?) Massey.  She’s the daughter of Newton Elmore II and Mollie (nee Powell) Massey.  If you look at the rest of the page, you’ll notice that he’s listed right above his father and siblings, meaning they lived next door.  My guess is that the land was a wedding present or the like.  You’ll also notice elsewhere on the page the last names Hobby and Whiddon, also elsewhere in the family tree.  In the 1940 Federal Census, the most recent one released, he’s listed as married to Lizzie (“Lenie” as it’s transcribed) with three children (“Elie”, which should be L.E., Mary Lou, and “Nolen”, who’s relation is not actually listed).  This is the first Federal Census record that my grandfather, Nolan, is listed on after his birth.  The only notable names on the page with Granddaddy Buddy and his family is Dice (Morris Franklin) and Kate (Arrie Katherine, nee Furney) Hobby.  Dice would have been Granddaddy Buddy’s uncle, Granma Lou’s brother.

Granddaddy Buddy passed away January 2, 1982.  I remember meeting him a few times before he passed away, but I was 6.5 when he died and don’t remember much.  I do remember the overalls he wore, Daddy says all the time!  I asked Daddy once if Granddaddy even owned a suit.  Probably not, he didn’t go to church much that Daddy remembered.  Which makes sense in another way.  Granddaddy Buddy and several Worshams are buried in Providence Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.  When Anthony and I went to find and visit the grave sites there, I noticed the church sign.  They only met a few times a month.  Here’s a picture of the sign:

The line under the meeting times says Elder Walter Todd, Pator.  Below that indicates that it was “constituted 1860”.  There are several family members buried here which hazards a guess that they were members at this congregation at some point.  I don’t recall having run across records of the “consituting” and charter members or any member lists, but I’m not sure that I’ve searched as of yet.  Next on the list??

did you know? and what do you really know?

Okay, so first…

Go here… and check that out.

Then, go here… and check that out.

Did you know that?  Had you really even considered that?  I only sort of had.

Oh, you really should read this, too…

How many of your ancestors do you know?  What do you know about the ones you do know of?

Essentially, to wrap up what those links give you, is that you genetics are “shaped” like your family tree.  They branch out farther and farther as you go up with more and more people.  (Remember how everybody has two parents?  And those two parents have two parents…)  And you gets bits of your genes and DNA from all along the way.

I haven’t done the exercise and looked up how many I have in each generation back, but it’s interesting to know I have bits from all over the tree!

“bucket list”: genealogy style…

So one of the things Ancestry Aces were asked about the other day is “what’s on our genealogy bucket list?”  I kind of had to think about this one in order to really come up with my answer.

1.  I guess the first thing on my list is to have it all verified.  Frankly, it’s virtually impossible to completely verify EV-ER-Y-THING.  I’d love to have documentation for it ALL going ALL the way back.  But I guess I’d really like to have Granpa Jack verified in the Civil War.  I just can’t definitively connect him to the records I’ve found that are most likely him.  I’m hoping to find some help to figure this out though!

2.  I’d like to find old homesteads or the like here in the U.S.  I’m not sure any homes are still standing, but I’d like to find at least the land and area they lived in.  I’ve managed to find some of the final resting places though, so it’s a start.

3.  I’ve love to visit the U.K.  I’d love to visit where my family came over from.  I mean, I’d need to verify it, but then I’d want to go to tho specific towns and places they were from and lived.

4.  My husband’s family came from France (Rodez) via Germany (Rhodt).  I’d love for us to be able to see those sites.  I have a feeling they have more left from the days his family was there and would love to get PLENTY of pictures in both places.

5.  I think I have it documented, but I’d have to check again.  I’ve found that one great grandmother’s father is a “gateway ancestor” for the Order of Charlemagne.  I’d love to visit a few of the abbeys and burial sites from some of them.  Particularly the one in Jerusalem.

6.  Okay, I’m throwing in a sixth one, because I’m already working on something along this line.  I want to print/ publish something.  Right now, I’m working on a photo album of sorts for my family on both sides.  It’d be cool to print up the while lineage and all, but I don’t know if I’ll do that… maybe whatever Ancestry offers.  I’m also working on my grandmother’s memoirs, so we’ll see how that turns out.  I’m really excited about that one!!