October 2

MEMORIAL TO...

Edna Elsie Gibson Shelton  1892-1987 age 94

Edna was a sister of my great-grandmother Lora Gibson Burford.

Photo: Gibson siblings

Edna Elsie Gibson married Eldon Lloyd Shelton and they had eight children: Virgil, Delpha, Eileen May, Clyde, Mary Lou, Eva Oleta, Arthur, and Cecil. I don't have any pictures of Eldon Shelton, and 

I was only able to find one picture of one of their children.

Photo: Clyde Shelton, killed in action in World War II at age 19

Now, family lore has it that Edna's husband Eldon Shelton was a brother to the infamous Shelton gang of bootleggers in southern Illinois during prohibition. He was not part of the gang, though. Well...

After much searching and researching, I have been able to find NO connection between Eldon Shelton and the Shelton family that spawned the Shelton Gang. 

Photo: Ben and Agnes Shelton and their children. The Shelton Gang was started by Carl, Earl, and Bernie.

Eldon Shelton's father was William Wiser Shelton, and his grandfather was William R. Shelton. I can find no connecting link between either of those men and Ben Shelton. And I can find no connecting link between any of Eldon's siblings and any of the Ben Shelton family siblings. Ho hum. I guess the Burfords and the Shelton Gang were not related in any way, after all, except that they occupied the same area of the state of Illinois. 

October 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Thelma Laberta Thomas Treichel 1900-1962

I don't have a picture of Thelma. I'm posting a picture of her gravestone because I only just recently discovered that she and her sister Etta are buried with their spouses in Crystal Springs Cemetery in Benton Harbor (Michigan), not in any of the cemeteries where most of the other Thomas family members are buried. In this photo you can see the Sheler gravestone behind Thelma's. Etta Sheler was Thelma's sister.

Photos: Jeanette Durren and William George Thomas

Thelma Thomas was the daughter of William George Thomas and Jeanette "Nettie" Durren. (William was a barber in Watervliet for many years.) Their other children were Don, twins Lottie and Luttie, Etta, and Ralph Thomas. The only ones I have pictures of are Lottie and Luttie.

William George Thomas was a brother to my great-grandfather Charles Thomas. So Thelma would be my 1st cousin twice removed. (She and my grandfather were 1st cousins.)

Thanks to my handy-dandy Cousin Explainer!

September 30

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO...

CHARLES MCMILLAN FORD married ELIZABETH RENEW MANLEY 1877

Photo: Charles McMillan Ford. I don't have a picture of Elizabeth Renew Manley Ford.

Elizabeth Renew Manley was the first wife of Charles McMillan Ford. Charles' sister Nancy was married to my great-grandfather Charles Thomas. In our family history my dad wrote this about Elizabeth Renew Manley Ford:

Charles' first wife's name Renew was pronounced by the family 'Ra-noo'. She was an artist.

Renew Ford died in 1892 at age 42. 

As far as I can determine, Charles and Renew did not have any children. After her death, Charles married Effie V. Harvey. Effie had a son, Otho Horace, from a previous marriage, whom Charles adopted. Charles and Effie had a son Cleo who died at age 18. Otho Horace Ford had a son, Otho Simeon, who was adopted by Charles and Effie at a young age and raised in their household.

Photo L-R: Charles, Cleo, Otho Simeon, Otho Horace, Effie V. Harvey Ford

September 29

Okay, well I didn't post this yesterday because I fell down a rabbit hole trying to figure out who the lady in this picture is:

I can't remember where I got this picture. According to the computer, I've had it for three years. It's labeled "Theressa K. Walters 100th birthday"

For the life of me I cannot figure out who in the world Theressa K. Walters is! I thought maybe she would be related to Uncle Sherman (husband of Aunt Helen Burford Walters), but I couldn't find any evidence to support that. I tried looking her up on the FamilySearch website and here's what I got:

Apparently Theressa K. (Plum) Walters is my 11th cousin three times removed! We have some mutual ancestor, on the Thomas side of the family. So... what am I doing with this photograph? Where did it come from? I am completely baffled. But since I spent the better part of the day yesterday trying to figure it out, I'mma go ahead and post it.

 

September 28

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO...

John David Thomas and Billie Jo Casey 1985

Photo L-R: Red Thomas, Billie Jo Casey, John Thomas, Wathada Thomas

John David Thomas is my brother.

In 1985 John and Billie Jo got married on September 28. One week later we celebrated our grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary.

Photo L-R: Cleffie Burford, Billie Jo and John Thomas, Lester Burford 

(at Red and Wathada's house in Downey, California)

John and Billie Jo had one child, Heather Rae Thomas, born 18 October 1987.

Heather Thomas married Shane Aguda 07 June 2014

Heather and Shane have two children: Ava Rae and Johnny Kane.

September 27

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Charlotte Viola Sandefur Solomon 1906-2000

Viola Sandefur Solomon was my grandmother's 'favorite cousin'. Here's what Cleffie wrote about her:

My Cousin Viola

 

 There were several times while we lived on the Bolding place that my cousin, Viola came by to visit with us for a few days, usually not more than two, but I always wished she would stay longer. I was only a small child, somewhere in the range of three to five, and she was a teenager. I thought she was the most wonderful person I had seen around that part of the country. I loved to hear her talk. She was so mature for her age. And she used expressions that I wasn’t used to hearing; for instance she would say “Cousin Cleffie”, or “Cousin Ruby”, etc. Also, I was just fascinated when I watched her combing her hair. This one time that I remember most she back-combed it down around the ears and then put a small “rat” in under the hair and arranged the hair over it and made a nice puff over each ear, then brought the rest of it together in the back and pinned it. I’m sure that was the fashion then. I thought that was so neat. Anyway, I just grew to love her and she has always been one of my very favorite cousins. At this writing she still lives in Somerville, Tennessee and is age 81. 

 (Today is October 10, 1987. The day I wrote this.)

Viola was the daughter of Nancy Ellen Hicks and George Woodson Sandefur. She had a sister named Ida Mae (called 'Mae') who married Ceilco Weatherford. I haven't been able to find out any further information about Mae. She died in 1961 and is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Floral, Arkansas. I don't know where her husband is buried.

Photo: George Woodson Sandefur and Nancy Ellen Hicks Sandefur and grandchildren.

Nancy Ellen Hicks (called 'Nannie') was the sister of my great-grandfather Ulysses Hicks.

Viola married William Ralph Solomon 18 September 1928, and they had one child, a daughter named Nora Ellen. William died in 1930 and Viola never remarried.

Nora Ellen Solomon married William Elmer Wright and they had six children: Billy Lee 1948-1968 (died in Vietnam), Bobby, Dennis Wayne 1951-1954 (accidental death), Nancy Ellen, Deborah, and Rodney Earl (1960-2002 (heart attack). Bobby, Nancy, and Deborah are still living, and I recently contacted Nancy and exchanged some family photos and information with her. Nancy was named after her great grandmother Nancy Ellen Hicks Sandefur.

Photo: Bill and Nora Wright, Billy, Bobby, and Nancy

Here are some other pictures I have of Viola Sandefur Solomon:

Viola Solomon and grandson Billy Lee Wright, Ruby and Jack Barnett

Viola with grandson Rodney Wright, 1966.

Ruby Barnett, Viola Solomon, Irene Barnett, Cleffie Burford 1976

Viola Solomon with great-granddaughters (daughters of Nancy Ellen Wright) 

September 26

MEMORIAL TO...

Arthur Lafayette Thomas 1854-1938

Arthur was the son of Washington Lafayette Thomas and Harriet B Walker Thomas. His brother Charles was my great-grandfather.

Photo: Washington and Harriet Thomas

Arthur married Frances L. McNeal on 23 February 1888. (She was 17 years old, and he was 34.) They had one child, Flossie, born 30 December 1888, died 26 February 1889, age 1 month 27 days. I don't know the cause of death. Arthur died in 1938, and Frances died in 1955. All three of them are buried in the Thomas Cemetery in Bangor, Michigan.

In our family history my dad wrote:

Frances (Aunt Frank as we knew her) lived in Hartford and would visit us and Aunt Renue sometimes when she was out walking.

(According to her obituary, Frances at the time of her death lived in a house on Haver Street, which was across the street from the house where we lived when I was in high school.)

The Hartford Day Spring, Sept. 28, 1938 Arthur L. Thomas, 84, Dies At Toquin; Rites Today BANGOR - Funeral rites are being held at the Sherrod chapel here this Wednesday afternoon for Arthur L. Thomas, 84, who died Monday at his home near Toquin where he had lived the greater part of his life. The services are under the auspices of the Covert Masonic lodge of which the deceased was a member. The Rev. Scott McDonald is officiating and burial will be in the Thomas cemetery, named after the family of the deceased. His death followed a long illness of a heart ailment. Born in New York state on April 5, 1854, Mr. Thomas came to Van Buren county at an early age. On February 22, 1888, he was married to Frances MacNeal at Paw Paw. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last winter. Besides his wife, Mr. Thomas is survived by two brothers, Charles of Bangor and William of Watervliet.

September 25

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Noel Joseph Dunn 1904-1904 (age 3 months)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO...

Joseph Calvin Dunn and Mary Leona Williams 1926

Since there were two Dunns mentioned in today's family calendar, I decided to try to suss out exactly how the Dunns are related to us. It is a commonly recurring name in the family history records on the Carter/Arnold branch of the family tree.

Noel Joseph Dunn was the son of Lewis Albert Dunn. Joseph Calvin Dunn was the son of Berton Sylvester Dunn. Lewis and Berton were both sons of Mary Elizabeth Carter and Lewis Calvin 'Luke' Dunn. So Noel and Joseph were 1st cousins.

Photo: Mary Elizabeth Carter Dunn

Mary Elizabeth Carter Dunn was a half-sister to my great-great-grandmother Adaline Carter Arnold.

(Just an aside -- Mary Elizabeth Carter and her brother James Wesley married siblings Lewis and Rebecca Catherine Dunn. I'm finding that it was a very common occurrence back in the day for siblings from one family to marry siblings from another family.)

 Mary Elizabeth Carter and Lewis Calvin Dunn had nine children:

William Jones 1876-1951

Montillion Boston 1878-1952

Lewis Albert 1881-1967

Berton Sylvester 1883-1972

Arthur James 1885-1971

Vergie Bernette 1889-1891

Ira Otis 1892-1958

Lillie May 1894-1975

Charles Dewey 1898-1898

All but two of their children survived to adulthood. That's a pretty good record for those days, when so many children died of diseases or complications of childbirth.

For as many Dunns as there are in the family, I don't have very many pictures of them. Here's what I have:

Photos: Boston Dunn and John Martin Carter. (I don't know for sure which is which. I tried to compare them to another picture of the two of them when they were older -- the bottom picture -- but I'm still not sure.)

Photos: Mary Elizabeth Carter Dunn and her youngest daughter Lillie. (The handwriting on the left photo is that of my great-grandmother, Annie Arnold Hicks. Lillie was her cousin.) Right is another photo of Lillie.

September 24

MEMORIAL TO...

Kate Ford Adams 1861-1953

Kate Ford Adams was the sister of my great-grandmother Nancy Ford Thomas.

Kate married George Adams 12 December 1880.

Kate and George did not have any children. I always heard them called "Aunt Kate" and "Uncle George" as they were closely associated with the Thomas family. They lived with my great-aunt Effie Thomas Wieland in their later years.

Photo: L to R - George Adams, Christie and Bill Thomas, Richard (in front of Bill), Harry Wieland in back, Aunt Kate in front. The other two people are "Mabel and Bill S" according to what's written on the back of the photograph. I've no idea who they are.

Photo: Alice Ford Miller, Preston Miller, Kate Ford Adams. Alice was Kate's sister. Preston was Alice's grandson.

Photo: Kate Ford Adams

 

This is probably the oldest photo I have of Aunt Kate and Uncle George. I don't know who the rest of the people are, nor when/where the picture was taken. And I don't know who wrote "Kate & George" on the picture, but I'm glad they did.

Aunt Kate and Uncle George are buried in Arlington Hill Cemetery in Bangor, Michigan

September 23

MEMORIAL TO...

Paul Herdman Jones 1900-1967

The Herdmans are connected to our family by marriage. Ulysses Grant Herdman married Belle Treat, my grandmother's (Christie) aunt, sister of my great-grandfather Marcus Treat.

The Treat and Herdman families were all from Ohio.

Obituary for Paul Herdman Jones:

Paul Herdman Jones was born on December 23, 1900 the son of James and Myrtle Herdman Jones He received his Bachelor of Science and Master's Degrees from the Ohio State University. Upon graduating from medical school he stated a medical practice in the community of Stockdale in Pike County.  He served as a general practitioner, optometrist, and surgeon in the local area.  During the Ohio River Flood of 1937 he set up a medical clinic to care for the refugees of the Portsmouth area.   An avid gardener, he helped found the Stockdale Garden Club in 1938, and served as its first vice president. 

Prior to the second world war he enlisted into the military reserve corps.  On March 9, 1941 he entered active duty, enlisting in the United States Army.  He was assigned to the medical corps and stationed at Camp Davis in Wilmington. North Carolina. He was quickly promoted to the rank of major and eventually made the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was made chief of the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic at Fort Davis.  He then transferred to Richmond, Virginia where he was made chief of staff at McGuire General Hospital. During the war he served some 18 months overseas.  In 1945 he was honorably discharged form the U. S.  Army. 

After returning from the war Dr. Jones returned to Pike County where he continued his medical practice.  In 1949 he was appointed Pike County Health Commissioner and was elected Pike County Coroner. He was an active member of the Pike Country Medical Society, served as president of the Stockdale Board of Education, and was an active member of the committee responsible for starting the Stockdale Volunteer Fire Department.  

He was first married to Cordie Cameron, and after her death Dr. Jones married Louella Coburn Brown.  Dr. Paul H Jones passed away September 23, 1967 and was laid to rest in Bainbridge Cemetery in Ross County, Ohio.