October 11

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Joan Laverne Hicks Walsh 1947

Joan is the daughter of my great-uncle Elvin Hicks. Elvin was my grandmother's (Cleffie Hicks Burford) brother.

Annie and Ulys Hicks with all 9 children -- L-R: Ruby, Cleffie, Irene, Lowell, Elvin, Olan, Vernell, Evalee, Bernice

Photo: Elvin and Mildred Hicks with their four children: Junior, Jeannie, Jimmy, and Joan

Joan married Kenneth Arthur Walsh. I don't have any pictures of him, nor any pictures of Joan after she was grown up. I don't know if they have any children.

October 10

MEMORIAL TO...

Zella Irene Hicks Barnett 1915-2002

Irene was the sister of my grandmother Cleffie Hicks Burford. 

Photo L to R: Ruby, Cleffie, Irene

Photo L to R: Ruby, Irene, Cleffie

Irene married Golden 'Doc' Barnett in 1934. They had four daughters: Velma Lee, June, Betty, and Bobbie.

Five generations: Irene, June, Randy, Samantha, Jeffrey, December 2000

October 9

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO...

Jennie Edith Burford and William Edward Searcy 1909

(I don't have a picture of Edith and Will together.)

Edith Burford was the 2nd child of Alexander Oscar Burford and his first wife Helen Virginia Lockard. In this photo she is on the left. The other two children are her siblings Hazel and Raymond.

Edith married Will Searcy on 09 October 1909. They had six children: Laura Amy, Eleanor Evelyn, Nellie Jane, William Jr ('Bill'), Edith Willene, and Jerry Dean. Laura married Everett Bostick, Eleanor married Robert Reeves, Nellie Jane married Eugene Spain, Bill married Audrey Estelle Burgess, Willene married J.C. Haynes, Jerry married Dorothy Wilson. 

I have some group pictures labeled "some of Edith's" -- and I've tagged them as best I can from notes that came with the photos:

Here are the notes that came with the pictures --

October 08

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Avery Bryon 'Bill' Cummings 1924-2018

Avery Bryon Cummings was a descendant of the Gibson family, tracing his lineage back to Stephen Samuel Gibson who was a Civil War veteran. He married Ila Leo Orrell 1951 and they had three children: Stanley 'Butch', Henry Elwood 'Hank', and Suzanne Marie 'Suzy'. 

Photo: Ila Leo Orrell Cummings

Their son Hank (aka 'Captain Hank') is a riverboat pilot. He has written two books (that I know of) about the Gibson family history, with emphasis on military service.

Photo: Captain Hank Cummings

October 07

MEMORIAL TO...

Alexander Oscar Burford, Jr. 1858-1929

Alexander was my great-grandfather. His first wife was Helen Virginia Lockard. They had three children: Raymond, Edith, and Hazel.

Helen Virginia died of typhoid fever while her children were still young.

Alexander's second wife was my great-grandmother Lora Gibson. Besides the three children from his first marriage, Alexander and Lora had ten children: Deb, Helen, Ishmael, George, Killough, Bernice, Lester (my grandfather), Neil, Juanita, and Judy.

Photo Lora and Alexander Burford with their first 5 children: Deb, Helen, Ishmael, George, and Killough. (I have several copies of this picture, and it is labeled differently on some copies. The boys on either side of Helen are Deb and Ishmael, but I'm not sure which is which.)

Ishmael Burford died as a young boy as a result of surgery (amputation) on a broken leg that had become gangrenous. Killough died at age 35 from accidental asphyxiation from an unvented gas heater. The rest of the Burford children grew to adulthood and old age. 

Photo: George, Lester, Neil 1956

Photo Juanita, Helen, Judy, with their mother Lora (this is a photo of a photo, that's why it's a little bit distorted)

Photo: Front - Raymond and Edith, Back - Juanita, Juanita's son Jim, and Deb's wife Florence

One last group photo - 

The relative who sent us this picture didn't know for sure, but thought the man on the far left might be Alexander Burford. It does look like him (those ears). This picture was taken in 1946. The man on the far right is Raymond Minter Burford, Alex's firstborn.

October 6

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Julia Grace Gibson Witter 1890-1987

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

Their other siblings (children of Asa Gibson and Adaline Gard) were: Cora, Clara, Anna Gertrude, William Minter, twins Dora and Lora, Lawrence, Calder, Iva Jane, Stella Frances, Edna Elsie, and Oma. (There was also another set of twins who died at birth.)

Julia married Frank Witter 17 August 1913, and they had three children: Virginia, Robert, and Lois Jean.

Photos: Virginia Witter, Lois Jean and Robert Witter

Frank Witter died in 1965, Julia died in 1987

They are buried in Maple Hill Cemetery, Fairfield, Illinois

October 5

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO...

Lester and Cleffie Hicks Burford 1935

Photo: Lester Burford and Cleffie Hicks, July 4, 1935, Judsonia, Arkansas

Lester and Cleffie were my grandparents. They had four children: Wathada (my mother), Morris, Bob, and Ron.

They moved from Judsonia, Arkansas, to Wichita Kansas, and then to Berrien County, Michigan, some time around 1942. Wathada, Morris, and Bob were born in Arkansas, and Ron was born in Michigan.

In 1969 Lester and Cleffie moved back to Arkansas and settled in Bald Knob.

Photo: Cleffie and Lester and Dianne (me) 1972, Bald Knob, Arkansas

Photo: Lester and Cleffie Burford, Golden Anniversary, October 5, 1985

Lester died in 1990, Cleffie died in 2004

October 4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Charles Russell Thomas 1905-1980

Russell was the son of Roy and Mabel Thomas.

Roy was a brother of my grandfather, Bill Thomas.

Photo: "Roy Thomas and family" - Roy and Mabel are on the right. I don't know for sure who the specific "family" members are. They had four children: Russell and 3 girls, Georgianna, Helen, and Ruth. The man in this picture could be Russell or the husband of one of the women. And I have no idea who the little boy is.

Russell married Marian Carroll

As far as I can tell, Russ and Marian had no children. According to my dad's family history notes:

Russell was a butcher and a farmer. He raised hogs and was a good friend of William Thomas his uncle. They made several hunting trips to northern Michigan for partridge... Marian was a teacher in the Bangor public schools for 27 years as an elementary teacher, and had taught for a total of 33 years. 

Russell was part-owner and operator with his father in Thomas and Son Grocery and Meats for many years. He was a veteran of World War II.

October 3

On this day in family history:

AGNES TILDA CARTEE CLARK was born 1930

BILLY WAYNE WHEETLEY was born 1932

Photo: Wayne and Joann Wheetley and family 1976

GEORGE ALEXANDER BURFORD was born 1903

Photo: George Alexander Burford

GEORGE WILIE HAYES was born 1938

JACK G PRICE was born 1896

JOSEPH GARD was born 1816

DENNIS PIERCE was born 1955

ARVIL BARNETT married RUBY HICKS 1926

Arvil Barnett and Ruby Hicks

WILLIAM MOSES MOWERY married NORMA DICKSON 1890

Allan Leroy Owen died 1994, age 74

Charles Hanford Byrnne died 1878, age 76

Harry Amos Taylor died 1933

JIMMY WAYNE GARRETT died 1959, age 16

Photo: Jimmy Wayne Garrett

JOHN HENRY ARNOLD died 1999, age 69, Aunt Gracie's son

ROSA LEE 'ROSIE' HICKS died 1990, age 88

Photo: Rosie Hicks

Waverly W Parker died 1870, age 1y 1m 23d 

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.