October Ancestry Challenge – William Lafayette Brown Jr

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013

23 posts/23 days/23 ancestors.

Ancestor #13 – William Lafayette Brown Jr

My 3rd great grandfather was William Lafayette Brown Jr. He was born in 1836 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi to William Sr and Martha Hamrick Brown. He only had one brother, John Henry, and six sisters. Poor boy. The document to the left is the transcribed family bible.

William Jr (24) and John Henry (29) both signed up for the 37th Mississippi Infantry during the Civil War in May 1862. They were in Company D under Lt H. G. Hamrick. As close as everyone was in Lauderdale County at the time, I’m sure Lt Hamrick was a relative. In November of 1862, William Jr was promoted to Corporal. In November of 1863, he was sent to work with the Calvary, and in February of 1864, he was promoted to 3rd Sargent.

For you Civil War buffs, here are the details of his company

Officers of Company D (Enterprise Tigers)
Whitman C. Turner, Capt., r. January 3, 1863
F. S. Pickle], Capt., r. August 29, 1864
Allen C. Carter, 2nd Lt., died August 23, 1862
H. G. Hamrick, 2nd Lt., r. July 27, 1862
Ira J. Williams, 1st Lt., died April 9, 1862
J. L. Peters, 1st Lt.
D. Lindsey, 2nd Lt.
N. R. Sumrall, 2nd Lt.

Stationed at Enterprise, Mississippi, March 7, 1862.
March 7. Muster-in roll of Captain Whitman C. Turner’s Company, the Enterprise Tigers, of Mississippi Volunteers . . .
called into the service of the Confederate States of America by virtue of a proclamation of the Governor of the state of Mississippi January 1862 from March 7, 1862 for the term of three years or for the war, unless sooner discharged. . . .
ROBERT McLAIN, Mustering Officer.

Stationed at Columbus, Mississippi, March 7-June 30, 1862.
Stationed at Saltillo, Mississippi, July-August 1862.
Stationed near Lumpkin’s Mill, September-October 1862.
September 10. Left for Iuka from Baldwyn.
September 14. Took possession of Iuka.
September 19-20. Had battle on the evening of September 19 and evacuated the place on the morning of September 20 and retreated back to Baldwyn, traveling about 100 miles.
September 25. Left Baldwyn for Corinth via Ripley.
October 3-4. Gave the enemy battle at Corinth and began our retreat from Corinth on the evening of October 4 and came back to Ripley and thence to this place, traveling about 140 miles on that march.
Stationed in barracks, Yazoo County, Mississippi, November-December 1862.
Stationed at Snyder’s Mill, Mississippi, January-February 1863.
Stationed at Enterprise, Mississippi, April 30-October 31, 1863.
Stationed near Enterprise, Mississippi, November-December1863.
Stationed near Pollard, Alabama, January-February 1864.
Stationed at Atlanta, Georgia, February 29-August 31, 1864.

Okay, let’s back up just a moment, and then we’ll fast forward to the good part.

Before joining the Infantry, William Jr married Sarah Ann Dollar on October 6, 1854. The document to the left is their marriage license. They had three boys and a girl. While he was running around fighting, his wife gave birth to my 2nd great grandmother Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown on November 19, 1862 (100 years to the day before I was born). Once he returned from the war, they had five more children: four more boys and another girl.

He was obviously a viral young man, and while he was away from home from 62 to 65, he needed to find a way to burn off all that testosterone. The story is: he was a sniper and guarded the railroad bridges at the Chunky River in Mississippi, and was captured by Federal forces. He dug a hole out of the stockade and escaped. Later, he allowed himself to be captured a second time to help others escape. He/they did. He had a bounty on his head by the Union for the remainder of the war.

William Lafayette Brown Jr, the father, the Rebel, and the war hero, died at the age of 52 on September 23, 1889 and is buried at Goodwater Cemetery in Enterprise, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge – Ora Alice Blanks Bates

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – 23 posts/23 days/23 ancestors.

Week three!

Ancestor # 12 – Ora Alice Blanks Bates

Ora Alice was my great grandmother’s, Annie Blanks Culpepper’s, little sister. (Annie was my Ancestor #1.) I found Ora a few years ago while researching on Ancestry. She married Shellie Houston Bates and had four children. Shortly after this photo was taken in 1916, with her holding baby William Leonard, he died and she never recovered from the lost. She died three months later. She was 28.

As I looked at the photo, I felt so bad for the little girl in the middle. Her name was Mary Louise. It broke my heart that she had lost her mother at such a young age, and I couldn’t get it out of my head that her mother may have committed suicide or overdosed. I don’t know what doctors gave grieving people back in 1917, but I imagine they didn’t know any more about mental health than they know now.

In my search, I found an Ancestry contributor who seemed to know a lot about the family, so I contacted her, and she was kind enough to send me information. It turns out she is my cousin, and all of these photographs are from her personal collection.

After the baby’s death, Mr. Bates moved his wife from Mississippi to Alabama for a change of scenery, but Ora did not improve. According to her death certificate, she died of “acute melancholia” and the contributing factor was “convulsions.” In my mind, I bet those convulsions were cause by some sort of medication.

I now had answers about Ora, but was still upset about the sweet little girl in the picture. I contacted the woman from Ancestry again and told her that the family photo was haunting me. She wrote me back and said it all turned out okay, as she was the little girl’s granddaughter. That made my spirits rise considerably.

Little Mary Louise grew up with her aunt (her father’s sister). She married and had children and lived to a ripe old age.

Here is a picture of her as a teenager around 1930 with her maternal grandmother – my great great grandmother Martha Lettie “Mattie” Carpenter Blanks, who I mentioned in my Ancestor #10 post.

I have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that the little girl in that first picture is holding my great great grandmother in this picture. It seems strange to me when my worlds collide like that.

October Ancestry Challenge – Lord Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron of Thoresway

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – 23 posts/23 days/23 ancestors.

We’re in week three!

Ancestor #11 – Lord Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron of Thoresway 1635-1689

<< The Great Wigsell was the home of my 12th great grandfather John Culpeper of Wigsell, brother of Thomas Culpepper of Sussex (not the guy above). A couple of John’s sons were John of Feckenham (my 11th great) and Thomas of Wigsell (still not the guy above). This Thomas had a son named John who was the 1st Baron Culpeper of Thoresway, who in turn had a son Thomas who was the 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway (the guy above!)

Are there enough Thomases and Johns to confuse you yet? Me, too! That’s why I’m going to leave the relationship between me and Thomas 2nd Lord Culpeper up to you. He’s either a cousin or an uncle or something, but it makes my head spin.

The most important part is Lord Thomas had no sons, so the Culpeper family crest died with him, as a crest is traditionally given to a son. I figured since nobody was using it, nobody would mind if I did, so here’s my Culpeper tat on my back. The bottom is French and means “I hope.”

Okay, on to Lord Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron of Thoresway…

Lord Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Thoresway (left), was the son of Judith and John Culpeper, 1st Baron of Thoresway. As a royalist, his father left England at the end of the English civil war following the execution of King Charles I. Lord Thomas lived with his father in the Netherlands and there on 3 August 1659 married the Dutch heiress Margaretta van Hesse. (pictured below)
(On a weird note, my trophy husband’s last name is Hess, but I’m sure he’s German, not Dutch.)

In July 1677, upon the death of Virginia Governor Sir William Berkeley, Lord Thomas became governor of Virginia but did not go there until 1679. While in Virginia, he seemed more interested in maintaining his land than governing, and he soon returned to England, though he did continue to serve as an absent governor until 1683.

Culpeper’s marriage to Lady Margaretta was not a happy one. She lived at Leeds Castle (photo), and Lord Thomas lived in London with his mistress Susannah Willis and their two daughters. He died in his house in London on St. James Street and left a will in favor of Willis, which Lady Margaretta had suppressed. I assume Lady Margaretta didn’t even find out about the death for quite some time after it occurred. I also have reason to believe her daughter Catherine (mentioned below) may or may not be the child of her husband, but you can read about that scandal in my book “John Culpepper, Esquire,” the third book in the Culpepper Saga.

Lord Thomas’s only child with Lady Margaretta was a girl, Catherine Culpeper (pictured as a child), and thanks to her mother’s diligence getting the will suppressed, young Catherine inherited much of her father’s wealth. A year after his death, in 1690, Catherine married Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord of Cameron (pictured below – look at those pouty lips!), thereby transferring the Culpeper wealth into the Fairfax family. The Culpeppers and Fairfaxes shared a long history of clashes, beginning with battling in the English Civil War in the 1640s when 3rd Lord Fairfax (Thomas Fairfax’s grandpa) was a General in the parliamentarian army and the Culpeppers (Catherine’s great uncles) were Royalists in the service of the King. You can read one of those stories here. I imagine a Fairfax/Culpepper marriage was quite a scandal in both families, so he either married her for her castle or for true love. Either way, you can imagine I’ll turn it into a book someday.

In Virginia, both Culpeper County and its county seat, the town of Culpeper, Virginia, are named for Lord Thomas Culpepper 2nd Baron of Thoresway.

October Ancestry Challenge – William Henry Blanks II

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – 23 posts/23 days/23 ancestors.

We’re in week three!

Ancestor #10 – William Henry Blanks II and kids

William Henry Blanks II was my 3rd great grandfather. He was born in 1800 in Greene County, Georgia. His father, grandfather, great grandfather, 2nd great, and 3rd great were all born in Virginia, dating back to 1660.

His grandfather was Henry Blanks. The following is Henry’s will.

***********************************************

HENRY BLANKS 1794 will

Will of HENRY BLANKS-Pittsylvania County, Va., dated September 15, 1794-, recorded October 20, 1794.

“IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN I HENRY BLANKS of the County of Pittsylvania being sick and weak of body but of sound sense and memory and considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time thereof have thought fit to make this my last Will and Testament in the manner followeth.

ImprImis I recommend my soul to God who gave it me and my body to the earth to be interred at the discretion of Executors hereafter named,

Item I lend to my beloved wife during her widowhood my house hold and kitchen furniture, all my stock of horses, cattle and hogs, the tools and plantation utensils belong to the plantation whereon I live together wilth use of the same during her widowhood after my just debts are pay’d

Item I give to my Sons JOHN and JOSEPH two hundred and ten acres of Land that I now Live on joining Bannister river to be equally divided between them. Also it is my will and desire that the above mentioned household and Kitchen furniture and all my stock of horses, cattle and hogs, the tools and plantation utensils belong to the Plantation should be equally divided between my Sons JOHN and JOSEPH and my Son in law WILLIAM PARSONS and POLLY his wife , WILLIAM FARTHING and TABITHA his wife .

Item I gave to my Son JAMES of Georgia a horse now in his possession to him I give the same to his heirs forever

Item I give to my Son WILLIAM of Georgia a mare cow & calf and a sow now in his possession to him I give the same to his heirs forever

Item I give to my Son in Law BENJAMIN WATKINS and his wife SARAH five Shillings and of my movable Property after my wife’s widowhood

Item I give to my Son in Law DANIEL BAYTS and his Wife ELIZABETH a cow and calf now in their possession to him I give the same to his heirs forever

And lastly this is my last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former Wills by me made. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this fifteenth day of September one thousand seven hundred and ninety four.

Signed, Sealed and published in the

presence of us who subscribed the same

in the presence of the said Testator

Thomas Anderson, Francis Anderson

Elkanah Echols, Richard Anderson

AT A COURT held for Pittsylvania County the 20th day of October 1794– within written last Will and Testament of HENRY BLANKS deceased was exhibited into Court and proved by the Oaths of two of the witnesses hereto and Ordered to be Recorded. And on the motion of NAOMI widow and relict of the said Testator Certificate is granted her for obtaining Letters of Administration of all and singular the Goods and Chattels, rights and Credits of the said Testator with the said Will annexed she having first taken the Oath by Law prescribed and together with JOHN BLANKS, JOSEPH BLANKS and JOHN OWEN the securities entered into Bond and acknowledged. the same By the Court Teste Will Tunstall C. C. -Pittsylvania County, Va., Deed & Will Bk. 10, p. 75.

**************************************************

William Henry II’s father William Henry I was born about 1760 in Virginia and was captain in the NC militia during the American Revolution. He served 1779-1780 and defended Charleston, SC under Brigadier General Caswell. In 1799, after five generations in Virginia, the family moved to Georgia, but as evidence of the above will, there was already some family there. After William Henry I died in 1823, his son sold all of his belongings. The newspaper clipping is from the Georgia Journal, 27 Jan 1824, pg 3.

William Henry II married Nancy Young in 1819 and had 8 children in Greene County, Georgia. Sometime between 1840 and 1850, he moved his family to Lauderdale County, Mississippi. I don’t know the reason, but every one of them went.

His two eldest sons James Lafayette Blanks and Thomas Young Blanks became Reverends and also served in the Confederate Army. His third son Jefferson Franklin Blanks moved to Arkansas between 1857 and 1860. Next, he had a fourth son Richard Lane Blanks and two daughters Martha Ellen and Nancy Ann. Finally, his youngest child was my 2nd great grandfather, William Henry Blanks III.

William III married Martha Lettie “Mattie” Carpenter and remained in Lauderdale County until he retired. He spent his golden years an hour away in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi. His death certificate states he died of senility and chronic bronchitis in 1922. His wife died eleven years later, following a stroke.

I find it strange that all of the children remained in Lauderdale County except for Jefferson. I wonder what was so intriguing about Arkansas in the late 1850s to make him leave his family. Jefferson married, had seven children, and raised them in Arkansas.

His youngest son was Jack Bruce Blanks. Jack also moved away from his family and married a girl in Louisiana and opened a general store. I don’t know which one in this photo is him, but I love this old picture.

According to William II’s will, his youngest children Nancy Ann and William III were his favorites. He left them his entire estate. He left $1 to each of his other children.

********************************************************

The Last Will and Testament of William H Blanks… State of Mississippi Lauderdale County August 18,1859.

Know all persons by these present that I do this day bequeath to my daughter Nancy & son William the sum total of my Estate being in consideration of my parental affection and love for them. My sons James, Thomas, Jefferson, and Richard I do give unto one dollar a piece also my daughter Martha English I give the same one dollar to be by each and all of them held in peace for life. My daughter Nancy and son William are by the Law of the Land old enough to choose their own guardians. Let them choose who they please their money is to be for their education and raising to be laid out on them at the will of their Guardian he to give Security for his management of the same, all of the above do request as the Last Will on Earth hoping the same may be satisfactory to all people on Earth in Testimony on which setting my hand and Seal Witness by undersigned. W H Blanks

W J Brown, P H Higgins

Jas F Ginnen

P. S. It is my wish for Nancy & William to have their brother Thomas to hold their business in charge.

Will Book 1, Page 17 Lauderdale County Courthouse, Meridian, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge – Sir Thomas Culpeper

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days about 23 ancestors.

Ancestor #9 – Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hardreshull, Bayhall, and Exton

***** or *****

We’re All Connected, but Don’t Tell My Trophy Husband!

I’ve studied genealogy since I was a teenager, and am constantly stunned that my trophy husband only knows his grandparents and great grandparents and doesn’t care to know any more than that. He said his great grandfather came over from England and for reasons unknown, took the surname Dallas (photo). He told me, “You’ll never trace my family because no one knows who Grandpa Dallas really was.”

Well, I take that as a direct challenge.

A day later I asked him, “Would you like to know who your Dallas really was? Yes, I found him. His name was Stanley and he was the son of Captain Edmund Stanley.”

As a side note, I’ve spent years and years tossing it in his face that I come from Nobility. I have Lords and Sirs all over my family tree and there’s even a good chance I descend from King Charlemagne himself.

So anyway, I traced the Stanleys way back and found my trophy husband’s 16th great grandfather was Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hardreshull, Bayhall, and Exton. WAIT! SIR THOMAS WAS MY GRANDFATHER, TOO…he’s my 17th great. So, hubby and I are related waaaayyy back when. That’s cool.

But do I stop there? No! …I should have stopped there.

I found that Sir Thomas had two wives. I descend from the second wife Joyce Baynard, and trophy hubby descends from the first wife, Lady Alianora de Greene.

Sir Thomas and Lady Alianora had a daughter also named Alianora (Eleanor) who married Sir Reginald 3rd Lord Cobham.

(photos are Alianora and Sir Reginald, Church of St Peter and St Paul in Surrey)

Alianora and Sir Reginald had a daughter, Elizabeth Cobham who married Richard LeStrange. These LeStrange guys are all Barons. For you “Cousin’s War” fans, are any of these names starting to ring a bell yet? Ok, we’ll continue.

Elizabeth and Richard had a son named John LeStrange who married Jacquetta Wydeville. I’m sure THAT name rings a bell.

Jacquetta’s mom was Jacquetta de Luxembourg. Her first husband was John of Lancaster Duke of Bedford (photo), who was King Henry V’s brother. Jacquetta was a cousin of the Holy Roman Emperor and the marriage was meant to strengthen ties between England and the Holy Roman Empire. When the Yorks defeated the Lancastrians in 1461, both Jacquetta’s husband, John of Lancaster, and King Henry V were killed in the battle. Edward IV of York became king.

Jacquetta de Luxembourg soon married Sir Richard Wydeville Baron Rivers (photo) and went from being a Duke’s wife to being a Baron’s wife. I don’t know if that’s a step up or a step down. They had 14 children including the young Jacquetta Wydeville.

Their eldest daughter Elizabeth Wydeville (photo) soon married King Edward IV(photo) and became Queen of England, giving birth to the Tudor era, as she was the grandmother of King Henry VIII.

So, seeing that Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Sir Richard Wydeville are my trophy husband’s 13th great grandparents, I guess he actually has more blue blood than I do. But, please, please, don’t tell him.

October Ancestry Challenge – How far back can you go?

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re ending week two!

Ancestor #8 – Zachariah Prickett

How far back can you go?

I’ve traced my roots so far back, there is some evidence that I am descended from King Charlemagne. The cool thing about that is his family is traced very accurately back to sometime in — wait for it — BC. Yes, Before Christ. Yes, a really, really long time ago.

But as far as my American roots go, as far as I can tell, I am a 13th generation American.

Most of my family came to America from England in the 1600s, and they all seem to have migrated south in the 1800s when the U.S. Government started selling off large plots of land to get the country settled. Someday I’ll sit down and figure out the exact numbers of generations and how far back each go, but when you get up to your 10th greats, there are 2048 of them!!! I just don’t have that kind of time.

I have a lot of 10th, 11th, and 12th generation American ancestors, including a 12th generation on my dad’s Crane side. My 9th great grandpa John Weldon’s (1626-1711 Massachusetts) great grandson’s granddaughter, Mary Polly Weldon, married Jeremiah Crane in 1801. They were my 4th greats.

But the farthest back I can trace my American roots is on my mom’s side. He was my 13th generation, 10th great grandpa Zachariah Prickett, born in Burlington County, New Jersey in the mid to late 1600s. Burlington County is just east of Philadelphia, south of Trenton, northwest of Atlantic City.

Zachariah married a woman named Ellipha in 1699 and had at least four children: John, Zachariah Jr, Hannah, and Elizabeth.

The line from Zachariah to me is:

13. Zachariah Prickett

12. John Prickett

11. Capt Jacob Prickett. This was his home built in 1781. It was located just past Prickett’s Fort State Park in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was destroyed by arsonists on March 7, 2005. Jacob was a Revolutionary War soldier.

10. Josiah Prickett

9. Sarah “Sally” Prickett, who married William Howington

8. Herod Howington

7. Nimrod Howington

6. James C Howington – Civil War soldier <<<

5. John Thomas Howington

4. Mary Elizabeth Howington who married John Patrick “Pat” Burke <<<

3. Ina Inez Burke (Ancestor #7) who married Earl Wilmar Culpepper

2. Linda Faye Culpepper, my mother <<< who married my daddy, Andrew Frank Crane V V V

1. and…..ME!

October Ancestry Challenge – Ina Inez Burke Culpepper

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re in week two!

Ancestor #7 – Ina Inez Burke Culpepper

My maternal grandmother Ina Inez Burke Culpepper.

I called her Mamaw. That’s her holding me in 1966.

She was born Feb 8, 1915 to John Patrick “Pat” Burke and Mary Elizabeth Howington and was the eldest of seven children. The family always thought there were six children total until last year when I visited the family cemetery and found a headstone for Rudolph Owen Burke 1916-1917. I researched all her dad’s brothers and her brothers, but none of their ages fit to have a child born in 1916 except her parents. Also, the middle names of all her brothers were Otho, Otis, and Olen, so Owen seems to fit in there nicely.

Mamaw married Earl Wilmar Culpepper on August 1, 1936 at the age of 21. They live a quiet life in and around Meridian, Mississippi and had two daughters, one being my mother. She worked as a seamstress and could sew anything by looking at it in the store for a few minutes. I’m positive she made the dress she’s wearing. If she were young today, I’d make her go on “Project Runway.”

She died following open heart surgery in 1975 at the age of 60. She came out of the surgery just fine, but no one told her to NOT take aspirin once she got home. I guess in those days, when you were in pain, you popped aspirin. She awoke unable to breathe and my grandfather said her neck was swollen and black and blue. She died of “complications of aortic valve replacement/respiratory arrest/laryngeal hemorrhage and edema/anticoagulation.”

She is buried with her husband, parents, and paternal grandparents at a little cemetery in the middle of nowhere in Newton County, Mississippi – Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery.

The best part of the story:

I couldn’t trace her mother’s family, the Howingtons. Her mother (my great grandmother) Mary Howington Burke was a brick wall for a long time. One day, I saw an obituary for her husband Earl’s mother (yes, my other great grandmother Annie Culpepper – Ancestor #1 blog). It said Annie was survived by a daughter named Mae Howington. I knew my grandfather’s little sister was Zeffie Mae, but who was this Howington she was married to?

Turns out, it was the man I always knew as Uncle Sug (as in Sugar). Melton “Sug” Howington was Mary Howington’s little brother. Mamaw’s uncle. Since he was married to Earl’s little sister, that also made him my mother’s uncle. Long story short, I traced Melton and found the whole Howington clan! Yay!

So, in closing, I just want to tell you that what they say about the south is true, and it is possible I’m my own cousin!

October Ancestry Challenge – Joel B Culpepper

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re in week two!

Ancestor #6 – Joel Bluett Culpepper

My great great grandfather Joel Bluett Culpepper was born in 1845 in Clark County, MS and died 11 Nov 1911 at Beauvoir Confederate Soldiers home in Biloxi, MS.

If you’re not familiar with Beauvoir, it was the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and following the Civil War, it was turned into a home for Confederate veterans. It is now a historical site and I have sat on that porch many, many times. The first photo is pre-hurricane Katrina. The second is me on the rebuilt front steps in December 2012.

Joel was born to Rev. Joseph M Culpepper and Nancy Yarbrough along with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. His paternal grandparents were Simeon Culpepper and Elizabeth Bluett. That’s where his middle name came from. It’s an old southern tradition to give maiden names of mothers and grandmothers to son and grandsons.

Joel signed up for the 63rd Alabama Infantry Co K, stating that his residence was in Choctaw Co, Alabama. His brother Benjamin signed up for the 40th Alabama Infantry Co C. I have no idea why the boys signed up in Alabama or if they were actually living there at the time. The answer may lie in their father.

Their father, the Rev Joseph M, signed up for the 37th Mississippi Infantry on April 11, 1862 and died on August 15th of the same year in a battle at Columbus, Mississippi. Joel was only 17 at the time and Benjamin was 18. They may have been sent to Alabama to live with relatives following their father’s death and signed up for the cause to honor him. The enrollment date on Benjamin’s war documents is October 1863 in Sumter County, Alabama, but the date is not visible on Joel’s document, but it was definitely before Benjamin signed up.

Prior to Benjamin signing up, on April 9, 1863, Joel was captured by Federal Forces and held prisoner at Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island until the end of the war. He was an 18-yr-old boy.

In 1870, Joel married Mary E “Mollie” McFarland and they had six children, one of them being my great grandfather William Samuel “Sam” Culpepper who married Annie Josephine Blanks. I wrote about her in my Ancestor #1 blog.

Mollie died in 1908, and Joel moved in with his daughter for a time until it was decided he would enter Beauvoir under his rights as a Confederate soldier. He lived there for 10 months preceding his death. The records on file name him as James B Culpepper. He and Mollie are laid to rest at Zion Cemetery in Kemper County, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge – George Washington Spencer

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re in week two!

Ancestor #5 – My 3rd great grandfather George Washington Spencer

My 3rd great grandfather was George Washington Spencer. He was born June 1829 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and died at the age of 72 in July 1901 in Newton Co, Mississippi. He was the son of Rev. William Saladin Spencer and Martha Didama Gross. He had ten siblings and was the second from youngest, so I imagine he got away with just about anything he wanted to. You can just imagine by the tenth child, you’d just throw up your hands and say, “Whatever!”

Behind this church is the cemetery where his parents are buried. It is possible George attended this church and his father may have preached there. (the photo is from my cousin mebauc)

George married Nancy Virginia “Jenny” Holdcroft in 1858 at the age of 29. She was ten years is junior. Hubba hubba. They lived in Newton County, Mississippi, and he was listed on the 1860 Federal Census as a school teacher.

When the Civil War broke out, he joined the 35th Mississippi Infantry, Company B on March 1, 1862 and some of the muster rolls show him as being hospitalized in Jackson, Marion, and Lauderdale Springs. Reports state he had an infection in his leg. In 1864, he was granted a medical discharge. My cousin told me George’s wife went by wagon to pick him up and bring him home. Though it’s nearly impossible to read, the following is his medical discharge.

The leg infection did not stop him from making whoopee, however! He had seven children between 1859 and 1878, the eldest being my 2nd great grandmother Nancy Didama “Grandma Damie” Spencer Burke.

He is laid to rest next to his wife (who died in 1928 at the age of 89) in unmarked graves at Hickory Cemetery, Newton County, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – Eula Ouida Keene Pickett

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors. It’s still not to late to join us. Come on, you can catch up.

Ancestor #4 – Eula Ouida Keene Pickett

One of my favorite people in the whole world was my great grandmother Eula Ouida Keene Pickett. She was my devoted pen pal while I was growing up (as we lived in different states), and I still have many of her cards and letters in my scrapbooks. I spent every summer with her as a child and remember gathering chicken eggs, watching her sew quilts, and staying far away from her nasty little chihuahua who was blind in one eye and would bite you if you got too close.

She was the daughter of Thomas Gilbert Lafayette Keene, an upstanding business man who served as Treasurer of Lauderdale County, MS from 1904-1907, and Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown, daughter of a Confederate hero who was captured by the Union army and escaped, then allowed himself to be captured again to help others escape, which he/they did.

She was born 18 March 1899 and was the sixth of seven children totaling three girls and four boys. She also had an older half-sister from her mom’s first marriage.

Eula married Benjamin Berry Pickett in Lauderdale County, Mississippi in 1916 at the age of 17. They had 3 children: Howard, Azalea (my grandmother), and Fleta Clarice.

Eula’s older half-sister, who was also named Fleta, was 14 years her senior, and the two had a special relationship. In 1920, Fleta had a daughter and named her Eula, and in Dec 1921, Eula had a daughter and named her Fleta Clarice. While Eula was six-months pregnant with Fleta, her father died in Sep 1921. If that wasn’t hard enough to endure, on 8 May 1923, baby Fleta Clarice died of pneumonia. She was seventeen months old.

The Meridian Star, May 8, 1923

Fleta Marie (Clarice) Pickett Born: December 1, 1921 in Lauderdale County, MS

Died: May 8, 1923 in Lauderdale County, MS

Fleta Marie (Clarice) Pickett Fleta Marie Pickett, 17-month-old daughter of Ben Berry and Eula Keene Pickett, who reside near Zero, MS., passed away this morning at 4 o’clock. Funeral services will be held from the residence Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock. Interment is to follow in Fisher Cemetery.

I find it interesting that they held the funeral in the living room.

A month later on 23 June 1923, Eula’s sister Fleta died at the age of 38.

1923 was NOT a good year for the family. Eula’s husband Ben and his brothers were involved in a bloody shoot-out with local law enforcement over a moonshine still. A revenuer (tax collector) was killed, and Ben was sent to prison for murder. This story is in a book by Hewitt Clarke called Thunder at Meridian. BTW, my grandmother Azalea was outraged by the book and said none of it was true. Then again, she was four at the time, and I’m sure the grown-ups did not tell her the all the gory details. I personally spoke with Mr. Clarke in September 2013 and he said he got that story from interviewing Clyde Pickett (Ben’s little brother) in Zero, MS and pieced the rest together from newspapers and court records.

Keep in mind, all of this occurred before Eula’s 25th birthday.

I don’t know how long Ben was in jail, but I know he served his time and was eventually released.

On September 2, 1936, Eula and Ben receive the phone call all parents dread: their 19-yr-old son, Howard, had been in an auto accident. According to his obituary, following a tire blow-out, the car rolled several times. Howard had internal injuries and did not regain consciousness. He died the following day.

The Meridian Star, September 5, 1936

Howard Benjamin Pickett

Born: November 19, 1917 in Lauderdale County, MS

Died: September 3, 1936 in Newton, MS

Howard Benjamin Pickett, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Berry Pickett of Meridian, who was injured in an automobile crash near Newton on Highway 80, died in a Newton hospital late Thursday. Miss Hazel Brasfield, 15, also of Meridian, remained in a critical condition Friday morning. Pickett, who was said to have been driving the automobile when it crashed at 5 a.m., received internal injuries. He never regained consciousness. Miss Brasfield is suffering from a crushed thigh. Other occupants of the machine were Jim Edwards, Billy White, Neva Ezell, Jack Ward, and Geneva Burt, all of Meridian. All were slightly injured but were able to return to Meridian soon after the accident. Pickett is said to have rented the automobile from a 630 taxi driver at 7 a.m. Wednesday, stating he intended to go to Jackson. The crash occurred when a tire blew out, causing the machine to leave the highway, overturning several times before striking a stump. Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Friday from the Eight Avenue Baptist Church. Surviving are his parents: Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Berry Pickett and one sister, Azelea Pickett, all of Meridian. The Rev. Ed Grayson and Rev. Blanding Vaughan will officiate at the funeral. Interment will follow in Fisher Cemetery.

My great grandma Pickett was a very strong and devoutly religious woman. The more I learn of her life, the more I understand why she was that way. Ben’s mom was a Fisher, so Ben and Eula and their three children are all buried in the family plot at Fisher Cemetery in Zero, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, which is still maintained by the Fisher family.

Lori Crane

award-winning author. musician. cute shoes.

Category Archives: October Ancestry Challenge 2013

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