On This Day in Family History - May 8

 Anna Laura Helterbran Herdman was born 08 May 1874

She was the wife of William McClellan Herdman.

Funny thing about the Herdman family -- They are only tangentially related to us by the marriage of Belle Treat to Ulysses Grant ('Les') Herdman. I never met Ulysses, but I did go with my grandparents to visit Aunt Belle in Ohio a few times.

Photo: Les and Belle Herdman

 Belle was a sister to my great-grandfather Marcus Treat.

Photo: Marcus and Belle Treat (Herdman)

As far as I know, there aren't any other connections between our family and the Herdman family. But for some reason I have a bunch of pictures of various Herdmans. Because of that, I've spent some time tracking down the identities and relationships between all the folks in the Herdman pictures -- so I ended up with a BUNCH of information about this family. 

Instead of trying to sort it all out, I'm just going to post the pictures --

 

Alvero Milton Herdman

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Those are all the pictures I got from my dad's collection of family pictures.

Here are some I've collected from FindAGrave website in the process of identifying various Herdman family members --

Don't even ask me to try to figure out who's who, and how they are related. It makes my head numb.

On This Day in Family History - May 7

John M Burford was born 07 May 1795

John is the earliest we have been able to trace of the Burford genealogy so far.

John M. Burford married Mary 'Polly' Berry 21 February 1818 and they had five children - Alexander Oscar, Mary Ann, Martha Elizabeth, Basil Berry, and Lucinda.

John M. Burford died 27 February 1873, age 77.

Mary 'Polly' Berry Burford died 22 September 1842, age 50.

They are both buried in Burford Cemetery, Jasper County, Illinois

Their son Alexander Oscar Burford was my great-great-grandfather. He married Nancy Reynolds. They had six children - John, William, George, Missouri, Shelton, and Alexander Jr.

Alexander Oscar Burford, Jr. was my great-grandfather.

 He married Helen Virginia Lockard and had three children - Raymond, Edith, and Hazel. Helen Virginia died, and he married Lora Gibson. Alex and Lora had ten children - Adelbert (Deb), Helen, Ishmael, George, Killough, Bernice, Lester, Neil, Juanita, and Judy.

Lester Burford was my grandfather. He married Cleffie Hicks and they had four children - Wathada (my mother), Morris, Bob, and Ron.

Wathada married Richard Thomas, and they had ... ME. 

(Well, they also had my two brothers. But I'm the most important -- and best -- of the three!  LOL)

On This Day in Family History - May 6

May 6 is the birthday of two of my cousins on the Hicks branch of the family tree:

 Ashley Nicole Ensor was born 06 May 1998

Ashley is the daughter of Melissa Anderson Ensor

Melissa is the daughter of June Barnett Anderson

June is the daughter of Irene Hicks Barnett

Irene was the sister of my grandmother Cleffie Hicks Burford

Sarah Kathryn Gray was born 06 May 1999

Sarah is the daughter of Aimee Hicks Burch

Aimee is the daughter of Clint Hicks

Clint is the son of Olan Hicks

Olan was the brother of my grandmother Cleffie Hicks Burford

Here's Ashley with her family

Here's Sarah with her family

Sarah is on the far left

Happy birthday to two of my third-cousins-once-removed (I think, something like that...)

This Day in Family History - May 5

 My sweet daddy, Richard Melvin Thomas, died 05 May 2011

This was the last picture taken of him - 14 March 2011

On This Day in Family History - May 4

 Elizabeth Angeline Wylie Burns was born 04 May 1847

She married Rev. Jesse Burton Burns 23 May 1865, in Jefferson, Alabama

Photo: Elizabeth and Jesse Burns

Jesse Burton Burns was a brother to my great-great-grandmother Malisa Evaline Burns Hicks

Photo: John Henry and Malisa Burns Hicks

Jesse and Elizabeth Burns had nine children - Nancy, Mary, John, Marion, Jennie, Josephine, Lucy, Surena, and Dovie

Jesse Burns served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War, Alabama Infantry

Elizabeth Angeline Wylie Burns died 30 January 1924, age 76

Rev. Jesse Burton Burns died 14 September 1926, age 83

They are buried in the Friendship Primitive Baptist Church cemetery, Ashridge, Winston County, Alabama

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Our Hicks family lineage has not been traced back beyond my great-great-grandfather John Henry Hicks. From there, we have traced his wife's family -- the Burns family -- back to Alexander Abner Burns, Sr., who was a Revolutionary War soldier. It was through Alexander Burns that my mother qualified for membership in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). Through her, I also became a DAR member. I don't really care much about being a member, but it was important to Mom, so I am maintaining my membership (and hers, now, even though she is no longer aware of it because of dementia) for the time being.

Alexander Abner Burns, Sr. was the great-grandfather of Jesse Burns and my great-great-grandmother Malisa Burns Hicks. (That makes him my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather!) 

On This Day in Family History - May 3

Well, since we've had two other centenarians lately, I'm going to highlight one more today... 

Alyce Thomas Spayde died 03 May 2007, age 100

Alyce was the daughter of Clarence and Margaret Hughes Thomas. She was born 12 February 1907. 

Clarence Thomas was a brother of my grandfather William Charles Thomas.

Alyce married Marvin Spayde and they had two children - Tom and Suzanne

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Marvin or Tom or Suzanne.

Marvin Spayde died in 1975.

Alyce and Marvin are buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Bloomingdale, Michigan

OBIT

Alyce L. Spayde, age 100, of Kalamazoo (formerly of Gobles and Bloomingdale), passed away Thurs., May 3, 2007, at Bickford Cottage in Portage. 

  She was born Feb. 12, 1907 in Bangor, MI, the daughter of Margaret and Clarence Thomas. Alyce graduated from Western Michigan University, known then as Western Normal, and was an elementary grades teacher for many years in the Gobles, Bloomingdale and Centreville school systems. 

  Alyce was preceded in death by her parents and her loving husband of 48 years, Marvin, in 1975. Also, Alyce was preceded in death by a sister, Nancy Thomas, as well as two brothers, Charles "Chuck" and Hugh Thomas. 

  Alyce was known by many whom would recall her at Marvin's side assisting in their family drug stores in both Bloomingdale and Gobles. In addition, generations of students will fondly remember her in the classroom as an outstanding, dedicated and loving teacher. Alyce was a member of the Michigan Retired Teachers' Association. For many years, Alyce enjoyed propagating and growing violets in her home. 

  She is survived by her loving family, daughter, Suzanne (Jack) Smith of Kalamazoo, and son, Thomas W. (Marlene) Spayde of Fernandina Beach, FL. In addition, Alyce is survived by six grandchildren, Laurie (Ken) Byrns of Fernandina Beach, FL; Linda (Andy) Blodgett of San Luis Obispo, CA; Katrina (Jim) VanHoose of Battle Creek, MI; Elizabeth (Gary) Formet of Lexington Park, MD; Gretchen (Tim) Lyle of Kalamazoo; Nicole Smith and her fiance Eric Whitner, both of Boston, MA; as well as eight great grandchildren and three step great grandchildren. 

  The family wishes to express a sincere thank you to Ruth Dykstra who has been a stedfast friend and neighbor of Alyce for many years. 

  Friends may meet the family 3-7 PM Sunday at the GOBLES CHAPEL, D. L. Miller Funeral Home, where funeral services will be held Monday at 2 PM with Pastor James Collison officiating. In accordance with her wishes, cremation will take place following the service. A private family inurnment will be held in Spring Grove Cemetery, Bloomingdale. 

  Memorials may be directed to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan

On This Day in Family History - May 2

 George Thomas Carter was born 02 May 1880

George was the brother of my great-great-grandmother Adaline Carter Arnold.

George married Larah Ann Elizabeth Wilkerson in 1901. (Don't know if her name was spelled Larah or Laura. I've seen it both ways in various sources.) She died in April 1938 after being injured in a tornado. (George later married Lula Nance.) 

According to his obituary, George and Larah Carter had eight children, only 3 of whom survived. (Childhood disease and death were all too common back in those days -- hardly any families were untouched by the death of at least one child.) 

Photo: George and Larah Carter with Lena, Frank, and baby Etta.

Photo: Etta and Lena Carter

I took this picture at the annual Carter/Arnold family reunion in Floral, Arkansas, 1983.

 

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George Thomas Carter died 16 April 1955, age 74. He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Floral, Arkansas.

Larah is also buried in Pine Grove Cemetery

On This Day in Family History - May 1

 Albert Franklin Williams was born 01 May 1876

Albert was the husband of Charlotte Hicks ("Aunt Tot")

Charlotte was a sister of my great-grandfather Ulysses Hicks

Photo L-R: Ulysses and Annie Hicks, Charlotte and Albert Williams

Uncle Albert and Aunt Tot had five children - Earl, Tom, Dorothy, Dona, and Charlene. Dona and Charlene died in childhood and I don't know anything about them. Dorothy died at age 4 as a result of being struck by lightning. (There's a whole sad story about that, but I've told it before and don't really want to rehash it today. You can find it in the blog post for February 15, 2023, and in my book "The Woods is Full of 'Em" -- available on Amazon.

I only have pictures of one of their children - Tom:

Photo: Thomas Henry Williams

What's written on the back of the picture: "Tot and Albert's house near Big Four. They ran a little store in the front part of it." (Cleffie's handwriting) I don't know who the little girl is, standing next to Uncle Albert on the porch. (I wish I knew whether or not it could have been one of their daughters.)

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Albert Franklin Williams died 10 August 1960, age 84. 

Charlotte died 20 January 1956, age 76. 

They are buried in Providence Cemetery, Judsonia, Arkansas.