Saturday, October 15, 2011

Surname Saturday - More Sansom Ansectors

This is Jennings Sansom, a brother to my Great Grandpa Millard Sansom.


Uncles

Friday, October 14, 2011

CORA SANSOM ADKINS

Cora Sansom Adkins was my great Aunt. Her brother Millard Sansom was my great grandpa. Both are children of Greenville Sansom and Adalaide Gilkerson Sansom.
I don't know a lot about Cora other than that she was a twin sister of Nora Sansom, and this small amount of info about her, her marriage and children:

Birth:
Cora was b. 27 Nov 1886 in Wayne County, West Virginia.
Marriage:
Cora Sansom m. Jasper Adkins (b. 23 Dec 1873) on 2 Apr 1874 in Wayne County.

I know of 3 children of this couple:
David, Jasper (Jr.) and Inez.

Would love to know more about Cora, and whether or not her sister Nora survived. I know that Green and Adalaide had 17 children altogether, but only 11 survived until adulthood.

Here is a picture of Cora in later years:

Monday, October 10, 2011

A Brick Wall Ancestor - Josephine Minter or Tilley (Tillie?)

We all have brick wall ancestors... one of mine is my great grandmother who was named Josephine or Josie, however her correct maiden name remains a mystery in my family tree.

Here is what I have found so far:

1. She seems to have been married 3 times.
Husband one - John Johnston
Husband two - Bill Gardner
Husband three - Evans Parks

She was born in May 1877 or January 1878, possibly in Narrows, Giles County, Virginia, or one record says b. in KY.

She died 9 Aug 1917 in Iager, McDowell County, West Virginia.

MAIDEN NAME:
Her son Ray's delayed birth certificate lists her maiden name as Minter.
Her son Sherman's obituary gives it as Tillie, but I've never been able to find her on census records under either surname.
Her daughter Thelma's social security application lists it as 'Jossie unknown'.

In 1900 she appears on the census for McDowell County WV with husband John Johnston and 3 children.

In 1910 she appears on the census for McDowell County WV as a widow, mother of 6 children, 5 living. All the children have the surname 'Gardner' on this census although at least three of her children were Johnston's. The youngest child on the 1910 census was my Grandmother, Bessie Parks. She appears as Bessie Gardner in 1910, age 18 months (or could be 8 months). Evans Parks is also in the household, listed as 'brother in law'. Evans Parks was married to Fannie Johnston, sister of Josie's 1st husband John Johnston.

Sometime after She married Evans Parks 13 July 1913 and had 3 or 4 children by him:
Bessie Louise (my Grandma), Clyde Parks, Sherman Parks and Dolly Worley Parks.

Dolly died as a baby. Bessie went by the name of Parks, don't know if she was a Parks or a Gardner.

She died when my Grandma Bessie was only 8 years old. My mother said her mom told her that Josephine loved to sing and play the piano. Maybe that is where some of our family musical talent was inherited from! I would love to know more about Josephine and her ancestry.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

WILLIAM W. PARKS AND WIFE LUCINDA

Here is a quick look at my G-G-Grandfather, William W. Parks and his wife Lucinda ?.
William Parks was born c. 1844 in Rowan Country, North Carolina, the son of Dempsey Parks and Nancy Bean Parks.

1850 Census - William appears as Willa Parks age 6 in Rowan County North Carolina with parents and siblings.

1870 Census - William appears in Grayson County, Virginia, Old Town Township, Nuchollsville Post Office b. North Carolina, age 26, with wife Cenia age 25.

1880 Census - William appears in Grayson Couty, Virginia, Old Town Dist. (Dist. 39),
age 36, b. NC, parents both b. NC, occupation : machinist, wife Sennae age 35.

1900 Census - wife Senah (Lucinda) appears as widowed on this census, in household of son Day? Parks and his family, in Grayson County, Old Town Dist.

Family of William W. Parks and Lucinda:
Evans Alexander Parks b. Sep or Nov 1869 (this is my great grandfather)
Sarah Parks b. abt 1873
Jefferson Parks b. Dec 1874
Rosa L. Parks b. abt 1877
Alberta Parks b. Oct 1879
Ennis Parks b. Apr 1886
Ollie Parks b. Mar 1888

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Victoria McCoy Hobbs

Here is the death certificate for my Great-grandmother, Victoria McCoy Hobbs
She died July 27, 1935 in Logan West Virginia
The death certificate shows her parents to be Compton Runyon and Victora McCoy, both of KY, but that is a bit mysterious to me. I remember my Dad mentioning some Runyon relatives but my records show Victoria's parents to be William A. McCoy and Sarah Ann Maynard. The informant on the death certificate was Myrtle Farley, the daughter of Victoria (and also wife of H.H. Farley the attending doctor).

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Meadow Garden - Home Of George Walton Signer Of The Declaration Of Independence

On our first trip to Georgia in February to see our son at Fort Gordon, he took us to visit the riverfront area for some sightseeing. On the way we crossed over a road named Walton Way. My 'genealogy ears' perked up because I knew that we had Walton connections to Augusta back during the Revolutionary War era. My son pulled out his handy smartphone and checked some things, and found that on Walton Way is the old restored home of George Walton, signer of the Declaration Of Independence, and my great great great uncle. We stopped by and the house was closed but decided that we would for sure visit it on our next Georgia trip.
My son and his family went to tour the home a couple of times and then last month my husband and I went to visit our son Easter and were able to take a tour of the home, given by a sweet volunteer member of the DAR, who maintain the home.
George Walton was raised by his uncle and aunt George Walton and Martha Hughes Walton, my direct ancestor. It was wonderful to walk through his home and see a picture on the wall of Martha Hughes, my great great great great(?)Grandmother! I think this is the first time I have ever stood in an 'ancestor's' home and it was a wonderful feeling of connection with our familys' past. Here is a photo of us at the home that day:

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A New Link

I was so happy today to hear from a fellow genealogist who came across the maiden name of my great great grandmother, a name I had searched for many times without success. Thank you to David ____ for sharing with me.
I want to do some research now to fill out more details, but here are the basics he game me:

Mary Adaline Adkins, wife of P.M. Adkins d. Mar 15 1944 in Cabell County WV.
Listed as parents were Benjamin F. Nunley and Elizabeth Jane Odell
Jane listed as being from Tazewell Virginia.

Benjamin's wife has always been just plain "Jane" to me until today. Odell is a brand new surname I've never researched. I can't wait to begin!