Category Archives: Carpenter Family

Book Giveaway

Posted on by Lori Crane

April 4, 1853 

She was born in Lauderdale County, Mississippi to James Rodgers and Martha Sanderford Rodgers. She had a five-year-old brother and a two-year-old sister, and two more children would follow her. She grew up in a farming community, surrounded by loving grandparents and more than a dozen aunts and uncles, along with their respective spouses and children. Her father and a slave named Bill built the log home she grew up in. Her childhood was ideal.

In 1861, Mississippi seceded from the Union and Civil War broke out. Though she had many uncles go off to fight in the war, her brothers were too young and her father was too old, so they remained safely at home with her.

In the fall of the following year, a typhoid epidemic invaded her community, killing her grandparents, many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and her parents. Her father died October 12, 1862. Her mother died a few short weeks later.

She was nine.

Her given name was Martha Ellen Rodgers, but she was simply known as Ellen.

“An Orphan’s Heart” is her story.

Happy birthday, Ellen! We honor and remember you on this day, 160 years after your birth.

In honor of Ellen Rodgers’s birthday and the May 1st release of “An Orphan’s Heart,” I am hosting a giveaway. One randomly selected person from all the people who LIKE “An Orphan’s Heart” facebook fan page will be chosen on May 1st to receive signed paperback copies of BOTH “An Orphan’s Heart” and “Okatibbee Creek.” Spread the word to your friends. All they have to do is LIKE the page. No purchase necessary. One winner will be chosen. Winner will be notified on or about May 1st. Prizes will be shipped on or about June 1st. Click here to visit “An Orphan’s Heart” facebook fan page. 

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“An Orphan’s Heart” new video trailer

Posted on by Lori Crane

My new book, “An Orphan’s Heart,” is currently at the editor, who is going to perform a modern-day miracle and turn my rough edges into a diamond.

I ♥ My Editor!!!

When I get the manuscript back, I will proof, proof, proof, format, format, format, then I will proof some more and finally, format again. Then we’ll call it done. It will be available around May 1, 2013 in Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and other eBook formats. The paperback will follow within a few weeks at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Create Space.

Somewhere on page 154, you’ll undoubtedly find a typo. Somewhere around page 97, you’ll wonder if the timeline is going where the author meant for it to go. That’s the way of the writing world. No matter how careful you are, you will miss something. No matter how much you love it right now, you will look back in a few years and wonder how you had the bravery to release that piece of crap into the world and the audacity to call yourself a writer. But, that’s how you know you are improving. You can look back on everything you’ve ever done and know you would do it better if you had a second chance. Too bad. One chance is all you get.

That being said, here’s the new video trailer for my fabulous, tear-jerking new novel,

“An Orphan’s Heart.”

It is the second book in the Okatibbee Creek series. If you read the first story,

“Okatibbee Creek,”

and shed a few tears, I am warning you now, you’ll need a whole box of tissue for this one.

Coincidental Dates (cue Twilight Zone music)

Posted on by Lori Crane

For you genealogy buffs: Do you see the same dates over and over when you work on your family tree?? I always see the same four dates – the birthdays of my kids, my birthday, and my wedding anniversary. Note: I NEVER see hubby’s birthday, my mother’s birthday, or any other family date. Only Feb 5, Oct 12 and 31, and Nov 19.

Strange? Yes.

I figured since I have absolutely nothing to do (sarcasm) I will compile all the strange dates.

February 5

My son’s birthday

My aunt’s birthday, Bobbie Jean Culpepper McQueen

My cousin’s birthday, Judy McQueen

My cousin’s birthday, Carolyn Burke Goss

My mother’s wedding anniversary, Linda Faye Culpepper

October 12

My daughter’s birthday

My great great uncle’s death date, James Rodgers

My great great great grandfather’s birthday, William Henry Blanks II

My third cousin’s birthday & death date, Claude Wesley Gardiner

My great great uncle’s birthday, Thomas Culpepper

October 31

My anniversary

My grandfather’s death date, Benjamin Berry Pickett

My father’s death date, Andrew Frank “Andy” Crane Jr.

My great great grandparent’s anniversary, Martha Lettie Carpenter and William Henry Blanks III

November 19

My birthday

My great great grandmother’s birthday, Sarah Elizabeth “Betty” Brown Keene

My great uncles birthday, Howard Pickett

I’ve heard stories of people re-incarnating in groups and around dates. I find the concept curious, but I have no convictions about it either way. I do, however, find it interesting that my dad’s Grandma Pickett has all of the Oct 31 and Nov 19 dates in her family. The people listed are her mother, husband, son, grandson, and great granddaughter (me).

That’s weird that my birthday and anniversary all coincide with dates on my dad’s side of the family.

I also find it oddly curious that my mother has my kid’s (Feb 5 and Oct 12) birthdays repeated over and over in her family. Those listed are her sister, two cousins, niece, two great uncles, great great grandfather, grandson, and granddaughter.

That’s really, really weird that my kid’s dates are all on my mom’s side.

What’s even more strange is that I would think of this today – the anniversary of my grandma’s death. RIP Mamaw.

burke Ina Inez Burke headstone

I am her legacy. The beginning of “Okatibbee Creek.”

Posted on by Lori Crane

Someone asked me how I came to write a historical fiction book, what sparked my interest in the main character? I had been working on my book for eight months, so I kind of lost track of how it all started. At the same time, I was also asked to do a talk/reading/book-signing in February, and I spoke with my husband about the important points of my impending talk.

He said, “You should let them know how it all started. Why did you write it?”

So, I put my thinking cap on and tried to remember…

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She was just a name in my family tree. Mary Ann Rodgers. My third great grandmother. I discovered that she lost her husband, Rice Carpenter, in the Civil War in 1862. How sad to lose the one you love, but hey, it’s war, people die. After he died, she remarried in 1864. I looked at the 1870 census and found she was married to William Jolly and was living with his children, her children, and three children they had together. It was a house-full! But at least their three children were proof they must have liked each other, right? That’s good. I was interested where William came from, so I traced him back and looked at his 1860 census. In 1860, he was living with his wife Harriet, their four children, and a woman named Nancy Carpenter who was 69 years of age.

Nancy Carpenter? The only Nancy Carpenter I know is Rice’s mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Rice. Why was Mary Ann’s mother-in-law living with her future husband?? Were they neighbors? Was she their cleaning lady? I clicked on Nancy Carpenter and saw her relationship to the “head of house” was listed as “mother-in-law.” She was William’s mother-in-law? What?? She was Harriet’s mother?

So, I went back and looked at Rice’s family, and sure enough, his sister Harriet was married to William. Rice died 31 Dec 1862 and Harriet died a month later on 30 Jan 1863. Their spouses, Mary Ann and William, brother-in-law/sister-in-law, married in 1864. Well of course they did. They had known each other for many years, hadn’t they?

The more I looked at the Rodgers and Carpenter families, the more I was amazed by the sheer number of family members they lost to war and typhoid. At the time of my research, I remember counting SEVENTEEN, but I’m sure there were many more I missed. I couldn’t wrap my head around that kind of heartache and quickly became impressed with Mary Ann’s strength. How would you react if you lost two or three family members this year? You would probably need Prozac. How would you respond if you lost a dozen? I wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed. Seventeen in one year? I can’t even fathom that.

Years, numbers, and names from census records are just that – years, numbers, and names – unless you put yourself in their shoes. Then they become tears, children, and heartaches. We all come from those strong women. We are the living proof of their strength. If the boat sank, the story would be over. But it didn’t, and we know that because we are here. We are the survivors. I dug deep down in my heart and soul and decided to tell her story, a story she would be proud of. I wanted her to know that she didn’t go through all of that in vain. I am here. I am her legacy. Her story has been told to make us all stronger. We are the products of strength, fortitude, and integrity, as well as tears, heartache, and pain. We are the children our grandmothers fought so hard for, and I want Mary Ann to be as proud of me as I am of her.

That’s where my book came from.

available at Amazon

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“Okatibbee Creek” facebook fan page

Okatibbee Creek available on Amazon US, UK & Italy

Posted on by Lori Crane

My book is now live on Amazon US, UK, and Italy…Awesome! Kindle is in the works and will be out in a couple weeks.

Click HERE to see the paperback in the US!

I am currently roaming around the country, more like, EATING my way across the country. Lots of pictures and stories coming when I return home next week!  🙂

My New Book “Okatibbee Creek”

Posted on by Lori Crane

My new book!! How excited am I???

Release date: December 2012.

Available in paperback , Kindle and Nook.

Based on a true story.

Mary Ann Rodgers is a happy child of a wealthy farmer in the early 1800s in Mississippi. She marries her childhood sweetheart and creates a wonderful life for herself and her children. When the Civil War begins, her world slowly shatters, not only from the economic trials and ravages of war, but from a typhoid epidemic that sweeps through her community, devastating her family. Between October 1861 and March 1863, she loses more than fifteen family members; including her beloved husband, four brothers, both parents, and her one-year-old baby boy. She takes in her brother’s five orphans, and along with her own children, struggles to raise them alone in an old general store that was her husband’s dream. Though with no paying customers and no way to re-supply her inventory, she is fighting her own war and losing.

When General Sherman’s Union Army marches through her town on their way to destroy Meridian, she has no choice but to fight back. And fight back she does – not only with her rifle, but with her change in attitude and her rebellious spirit. Following the death of her husband, she is left with no option but to marry the only man who can help her – her widowed brother-in-law, William. Adding his four children to the eight she is already raising is a daunting task, but her marriage to William turns her life around in surprising ways. She becomes a strong and resilient woman who understands better than most the meaning of life and the importance of love and family.

Okatibbee Creek is a novel of historical fiction based on the life of my third great grandmother, including supporting documents and family photos at the end of the book. It will have you crying and cheering through a real-life story of love, loss, and survival.

“Okatibbee Creek” facebook fan page.

“Okatibbee Creek” video trailer.

The Blood in My Veins

Posted on by Lori Crane

Throughout the work on my last book, I became more and more interested in the organization called the UDC – The United Daughters of the Confederacy.  On their website, the president, Mary Nowlin Moon, writes the following: “I am a Daughter of the Confederacy because I was born a Daughter of the Confederacy.”

That is my heritage also – a few times…

My book called “Okatibbee Creek” (available at Amazon.com) is about my 3rd great grandfather, Rice Benjamin Carpenter, who fought for the CSA (Confederate States of America) as a member of the 41st MS Infantry during the Civil War. Rice was born 15 Aug 1828 in Greene, TN. He signed up for battle in Marion Station, MS on 21 Apr 1862, and sadly, was killed at the Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, TN on 31 Dec 1862 at the age of 34. He was married and a father of five children. (His brother, Hilliard, also fought and died for the cause. He died at home on 16 Jul 1864 following wounds he received in battle on 28 May 1864 at Dallas, GA.)

I also have a 3rd great grandfather, William Lafayette Brown Jr, who fought for 37th MS Infantry. William was born 30 Oct 1836 in Lauderdale Co, MS. He signed up for battle on 8 May 1862 in Enterprise, MS at the age of 24, with four small children at home and one on the way (my 2nd great grandmother). William was a sharpshooter, guarding the railroad bridges in Chunky, MS from the Union troops. He was captured and escaped. He allowed himself to be captured a second time to help others escape. He/they did. There was a bounty on his head for the remainder of the war. He returned home when the war ended and lived until the age of 52. He died in Lauderdale County, MS on 23 Sep 1889. He was married and fathered ten children.

There’s another 3rd great grandpa: James C Howington. James was born in Wake County, NC on 15 Jan 1823 to Nimrod Howington and Milbury Bradley.  He was the second born of thirteen children. He was 5′ 11″ and had auburn hair and gray/blue eyes.

At some point, he ended up in Sumter Co, AL and married Amelia “Ann” Smith on 24 Sept 1843. By 1850, they had taken up residence in Newton Co, MS and had ten children before the start of the Civil War. James signed up with the 5th Mississippi Infantry, Co. A, on 7 July 1862. He was captured 15 Jun 1864 and held prisoner at Rock Island, Illinois. When the war ended, he returned home and they had two more children.

james c howington pow

howington James C Howington Headstone

I have yet another 3rd great grandfather, Joseph M Culpepper, who fought also for the 37th MS Infantry. Joseph was born in 1822 in Jackson, GA. He signed up in Marion, MS on 11 Apr 1862 at the age of 40. His records show that he was continually absent due to illness. He did not fight much, but died in battle on 15 Aug 1862 at Columbus, MS. He was married and a father of six children, two of whom were young boys also serving in the war.

The Rebel I filled out my UDC application under was my 2nd great grandfather, Joel Bluett Culpepper, 17-yr-old son of Joseph M Culpepper. JB and his brother, Benjamin, fought with the 63rd Alabama Infantry. JB was captured by Federal Forces at Blakely, AL on 9 Apr 1863 and held at Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island until the end of the war. He came home and married and had six children. At the end of his life, he lived at Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis House in Biloxi, MS, under his rights as a Confederate Soldier. He died at Beauvoir on 11 Nov 1911. (The following photos are: CSA Military Record, Fort Massachusetts, Beauvoir pre-Hurricane Katrina, JB Culpepper, headstone.)

Even though I live in Michigan now, I have proudly been accepted as a member of the United Daughter of the Confederacy, Robert E Lee Chapter, in Meridian, Mississippi, where I was born. I am honored and humbled by the acceptance as well as by my heritage. The Rebel blood in my veins is strong. I can no more deny my place in the Daughters of the Confederacy than I can deny being an American.

We protect our future by remembering our past.

Photo take 26 Aug 2012 at the Jackson, Michigan Muster, the re-enactment of the Battle of Stones River 1862.

Ancestry – or Why I’m So Jacked Up – 3rd Great Grandparents 1&2

Posted on by Lori Crane

If you’ve never considered the exponential growth of your ancestors, let me break it down for you. You have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 great great grandparents and 32 great great great grandparents. Considering I’m at the section of my blog containing 32 great great great grandparents, I think I’ll just write a bunch of blogs and not try to put them all into one.

That being said, this blog is about my great great great grandparents:

Mary Ann Rodgers Carpenter Jolly and Rice Benjamin Carpenter.

Rice Carpenter was born to Benjamin Carpenter and Nancy Rice in Greene, Alabama on 15 Aug 1828. He was the eighth born of ten children, with six sisters and three brothers. The five eldest children were born in Franklin, North Carolina. The five youngest were born in Greene, Alabama. In 1834, family and friends (Richardsons, Alfords, Sanderfords, and Tutts) moved on a wagon train from Greene Co, AL to Lauderdale, MS for the low-cost land and fertile soil.

Rice married Mary Ann Rodgers in MS in 1846 at the age of 18.

Rice and Mary Ann had five children; Martha Lettie “Mattie”, Benjamin Hays, William Travis, Charles Clinton “Charlie”, and a son whose initials were M.F. William Travis died in 1856 at the age of two, and M.F. died at the age of one in 1863.

Rice was a farmer for a while, but by 1860 became a merchant, and he owned a general store in Marion Station, MS, which is now known as Marion. During the Civil War, he signed up for the 41st Mississippi Infantry, Company C, in 1862 and left Marion Station in May. On 31 December 1862, Rice was killed in battle at Murfreesboro, TN.

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Mary Ann Rodgers was the tenth child of Hay Rodgers Sr and Mary A Scott. They had fourteen children; including two boys who died in 1834 at the ages of eight and ten of either an illness or an accident (Mary Ann was six years old at the time), and they had three sons who died in the Civil War between 1862 and 1864.

Mary Ann was 18 when she married Rice. December 1862 through March 1863 was an awful time for her. Her father, Hays, died a few weeks before her husband, Rice. Then her infant son, M.F., died a month later. Then her mother died a month after that. At the time of Rice’s death in 1862, she had fourteen year old Mattie at home, and her three sons were eleven, four and one. She was alone, running a store that was more than likely running out of supplies. The Confederate Dollar was losing value. Her children were probably hungry, with no farm or men in town to plant and harvest. She had lost her husband and three brothers to the war. She also lost her parents, her infant, and a host of brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews to typhoid, which was spreading through Lauderdale County.

In February of 1864, she married William Eades Jolly. William had been married to Rice’s sister, Harriet. Harriet died in January of 1863 of typhoid and left William with four children to raise alone. Mary Ann and William were brother-in-law/sister-in-law, but Mary Ann needed someone to feed her children, and William needed someone to run his household while he worked on his farm. It was apparently a good arrangement for them, as they had three more children together; Alice, Sarah, and John Eades.

William died in 1890 at the age of 72 and is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Union, Newton Co, MS.

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Mary Ann died 8 years after William on 18 July 1898 at the age of 70. She is buried next to her youngest son, John Eades Jolly, at Bethel Cemetery, Nellieburg, Lauderdale Co, MS.

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Mary Ann had 13 siblings. They were Lewis, James, Allen, Jackson, Susannah, Stephen, William, Timothy, Hays Jr, Wilson, John W, Elizabeth and Martha Jane. If you are a descendant of Hays Rodgers (Mary Ann’s father) or would like to know more about the family, please join us at http://www.facebook.com/DescendantsOfHaysGRodgersSr .