Cathey Family – Page 2 – Digging Up Your Family

A Few Family Members In 1940

The search is still on (and has been for 4 days) to find my family members in the 1940 US Census. Here’s a few of them!

My great-grandmother’s sister Ludie Mae Cathey. She married Cam Daniel. This census shows Ludie, Cam and their children in Hurricane Mills, Humphreys County, Tennessee.

My great-grandmother’s half sister Maggie Smith married Granville Baker. In 1940 Maggie and Granville, along with some of their children, also lived in Hurricane Mills, Humphreys County, Tennessee.

My grandmother’s sister Nettie Sue Craft married Elgie Lewis. In 1940 Nettie Sue, Elgie and their two children (Buddy for some reason is listed as Billie) were living in Nunnelly, Hickman County, Tennessee.

The hunt is still on to find everyone else!

Lizzie Was Here (and so was the rest of the family!)

I would like to know what this used to say and what it was…

Last week when my mom and I drove up to Tennessee to place the headstones for the Craft family we also got a chance to see where my great-great-grandmother Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers lived when she was living in Hurricane Mills, Humphreys County, Tennessee. Donny Baker, my first cousin twice removed, took us to not one, but TWO houses Lizzie lived in! It was pretty exciting for us and my great-great-aunt Kat.

I got photos of the houses, but what I thought was pretty neat were the outhouses. Not because they were outhouses sitting out behind the houses themselves, but because Lizzie, and her children and grandchildren (including my grandmother) had actually sat their behinds on the seats in those outhouses.

It may seem silly, but knowing that I was seeing a place where people went for privacy just made it special.

This outhouse is from the first house we visited, on the paved end of the road.

Lizzie’s butt sat here!

This is up on the hill behind the second house, which was on the non-paved section of the road.

Lizzie’s butt sat here, too!

Gosh, just think about how each person had to tromp out to these little buildings in the snow and rain just to be alone and read the Sears & Roebuck catalog!

State of Tennessee v Acra Archie Cathey 1917

While looking up information concerning the death of Acra Archie Cathey I found a website for the Special Collections at University of Tennessee at Martin that listed a court case, State of Tennessee v Acra Cathey, which took place in 1917 in Weakley County, Tennessee. I wrote to them asking how I could possibly get a copy of the court records, and while I waited for their response I had a million different ideas in my mind of what it could have been about. About a week or so after I sent my email I got a response that they don’t normally scan the documents in that bunch of papers, but since the file I was requesting was in such good condition they went ahead and scanned them, then sent them in the email!

Below are the pages from the court case, along with the transcriptions. I found this kind of humorous since I recently found out that some distant cousins on the Bondurant side of the family were bootleggers, too!

If anyone sees anything that needs correcting please let me know!

STATE WARRANT

State of Tennessee, Weakley County

Personally appeared before me LA Elliott, an acting Justice of the Peace of said County, T.H. Carney, and made the following statement: – that Acra Cathey did bring into the State of Tennessee whiskey on Nov. 14^th 1917 and said offense being ~~com~~ in violation of the Bone dry law of the State of Tennessee. Said offense was committed in the 2nd Civil district of Weakley County State of Tennessee against the Peace and dignity of the State.

T.H. Carney

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 14^th day of Nov 1917

LA Elliott JP

State of Tennessee, Weakley County

To any Lawful Officer of Said County:

Information on oath having been made me by TH Carney that the offense of violating the Bone dry law has been committed and charging Acra Cathey thereof, you are therefore commanded, in the name of the STATE, forthwith to arrest the said Acra Cathey and bring him before me, or some other Justice of said County; to answer the above charge.

This Nov. 14^th 1917 LA Elliott

Justice of the Peace

STATE OF TENNESSEE

Acra Cathey

Violating the Bone

Dry law

Came to hand and executed by arresting defendant and setting the case for trial before

L.A. Elliott

Justice of the Peace, at 10 o’clock

aM. Nov the 14 1917.

T.H. Carney

D.S. Constable

BILL OF COSTS

Affidavit $ 10

Warrant 50

Subpoena 25

Arrest 100

Sum’ing Witnesses 25

Judgment 75

Mittimus 50

Recognizance

Bond

Witness Attendance 50

Fine

Taking Evidence-

In Writing

Jail Fees

Docketing 15

Making out-

Bill of Costs 25

Continuance, 1^st

Continuance, 2^nd

Total $ 425

I certify that the above Bill of Costs is correct.

L.A. Elliot

Justice of the Peace

STATE OF TENNESSEE VS Acra Cathey

Judgment that Defendant Acra Cathey waives examinations of charge of violating the bone dry law and I ~~place~~ bind him over to await the action of the next Grand Jury of Weakley County and I place the amount of bond of Four hundred and fifty dollars which bond the defendant failed to make I therefore issue a mittimus to the sherriff (sic) and to place them in jail. Signed JA Elliott

Justice of the Peace

STATE SUBPOENA

STATE OF TENNESSEE, WEAKLEY COUNTY.

To the Sheriff of Weakley County-Greeting:

We command you to summon TH Carney, JR Bruce, E.D. Henderson personally to appear on ~~after~~ the second Monday in Dec before the Judge of our Circuit Court for the County of Weakley, to be held the First Monday in Dec 1917, next, at the Courthouse in the town of Dresden, then and there to testify, and the truth to say, in behalf of the State in the case of State of Tenn vs. Acra Cathey and this you shall in nowise omit, under the penalty prescribed by law.

Witness, W.W. House, Clerk of our Circuit Court, at office, the first Monday in Dec, A.D. 1917, and the 142 year of American Independence.

WW House, Clerk.

D.C.

CIRCUIT COURT.

WEAKLEY COUNTY.

STATE OF TENNESSEE

vs.

Acra Cathey

SUBPOENA.

Issued this 6 day of

Dec, 1917

WW House, Clerk

Executed as

Commaned (sic)

this Dec the 8

1917

T.H. Carney

D.S.

SUBPOENA

STATE OF TENNESSEE, WEAKLEY COUNTY

To Any Lawful Officer to Execute and Return:

You are Hereby Commanded to summon JR Bruce to appear at my office, on the 14th day of Nov 1917, at 10 o’clock to give evidence in behalf of State of Tennessee in a suit pending before LA Elliott wherein State of Tennessee is Plaintiff, and Acra Cathey is Defendant; and this you shall in nowise omit.

This 14th day of Nov 1917

LA Elliott J.P.

No.

MAGISTRATE’S SUBPOENA

State of Tennessee

Plaintiffs,

vs.

Acra Cathey

Defendants

Issued 14th day of Nov 1917

Came to hand same day issued, and executed by reading the within Subpoena to JR Bruce and citing him to appear before Justice of the Peace, for trial, the 14th day of Nov 1917 at 10 o’clock aM.

T.H Carny

DS Constable

INDICTMENT

State of Tennessee, WEAKLEY COUNTY

WEAKLEY COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT

December TERM, A.D., 1917

The Grand Jurors of the State of Tennessee, elected, impaneled, sworn and charged to inquire in and for the body of the County of Weakley in the state aforesaid, upon their oath, present that Acra Cathey late of said County, laborer, heretofore, to wit, on the ___ day of November, A.D. 1917 in the County of Weakley aforesaid, then and there, unlawfully did receive and possess a quantity of intoxicating liquor to-wit: whiskey, against the peace and dignity of the state.

Thos. O (?)

Attorney General

Second Count:-

And the Grand Jurors aforesaid on their oath aforesaid, further present that the said Acra Cathey-on the day and date aforesaid, and in the state and county aforesaid, then an there, unlawfully did personally transport from another state into Weakley County, Tennessee, a quantity of intoxicating liquor to-wit:-whiskey, against the peace and dignity of the state

Attorney General

Third Count:-

And the Grand Jurors aforesaid, on their oath aforesaid, further present that the said Acra Cathey on the day and date aforesaid, and in the state and county aforesaid, then and there unlawfully did personally transport from one point in Weakley County, Tennessee, to another point in Weakley County, Tennessee, a quantity of intoxicating liquor, ot-wit (sic):-whiskey

Against the peace and dignity of the State.

Thos (?)

Attorney General

No.

STATE OF TENNESSEE

VS. PRESENTMENT FOR

Bone Dry

Acra Cathey

Witness:

T.H. Carney

Summon for the State

T.H. Carney

JR Bruce

~~Tom Vaughn~~

Everett Henderson

By order of

Thos. (?)

Attorney General

Signed by

W.C. Cardwell

Foreman of the Grand Jury

AND

1 R.E. Duke

2 W.C. Cardwell

3 C.H. Wheeler

4 AM Rea

5 Charley Keys

6 W.H. Phillips

7 E.B.Carmichel

8 JT Rawles

9 Ashley Weatherford

10 CB Higgs

11 SR McFarland

12 Walter M Claire

13 CB Bailey

Grand Jurors.

December Term, 1917

Headstones: History in the Making

Several weeks ago my great-aunt Kat had mentioned to my mom that she had always wanted a headstone for her mother’s grave and was never able to get one, whether due to monetary issues or distance from the cemetery itself. It was something that I had thought about a few times before, getting a headstone for my great-grandmother, so I started looking around. And I found that headstones are far, far more expensive than I thought they were. A basic small headstone was hundreds of dollars. That wasn’t going to do, so I started looking around again. Then my mom sent me a link to a website that tells how to make the stones. It looked easy enough, so we (my mom, my husband and I) started making the stones about three weeks ago. This past Sunday my mom and I drove up to Tennessee to set the stones. Aunt Kat got misty.

The following is the journey to make the headstones.

The headstones set in Double Springs Presbyterian Cemetery, Humboldt, Gibson County, Tennessee.

The website that my mom found was The Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project. Neal Du Shane of APCRP is so helpful. I am so grateful for him for being in contact with me and giving me tips and tricks along the way to make the stones successful.

Anyway, here’s how we made the stones.

Supplies

2x4s

Long screws

Flat sticks, like 1 1/2” wood trim

Press-in letters (I ordered from Magnetic Poetry, as suggested by APCRP)

Pencil

Very strong plywood boards

Garbage bags or other plastic

Newspaper

Wheelbarrow

Shovel

Quikrete Type S Mason (mortar) Mix 80lbs bag (make sure it’s MORTAR mix)

Water (about 5 liters)

Small hand cement tamper

Hand cement trowel

Rubber mallet

Small bucket of water

Cloth rag or paper towels

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Seal Krete Clear-Seal Gloss Concrete Sealer

Wrought iron accoutrements and nails, if so desired

Be sure to make just one stone at a time. Neal figured out that the time one has from when the mortar is mixed to work with it is roughly 30-45 minutes. He is not joking. It’s a short amount of time, so you have to work quickly, but efficiently. All supplies laid out and ready to go!

Building the Frames

Each stone was to measure 21”x16”. My husband Brett cut 2x4s into lengths so that the inside of the frames would measure correctly, then used long screws to put the frames together.

Setting the Letters

I started by taping paper together into 21”x16” rectangles. Then Brett cut the trim pieces of wood into lengths of 23” (which is the measurement of the outside of the frames). I then laid the ironwork on the paper in the place it would be on the stones and marked the stick. I then began setting the letters and marking them on the stick to get them as centered as possible.

Set Up

Once the letters were set we were ready to begin making the stones. We started by setting a strong piece of plywood on a dolly to make it easier to move around. Plastic was laid on the plywood, followed by several layers of newspaper (it was figured that the newspaper might help absorb some of the moisture from the mortar). The frame was then placed on top of the newspaper. Letters and numbers were set out along with a written copy of the exact lettering (just in case I messed it up on the sticks!)

Preparing the Mortar

Brett poured the bag of mortar in the wheelbarrow. When he had the shovel ready I started pouring in water. I started with about 3 liters, then added until it was, as Neal said, the consistency of peanut butter (for the record, we had a discussion on whether or not Neal meant homemade peanut butter once the oil was poured off or popular name brand like Jiff or Skippy. We decided that it was probably in between, but more Skippy than homemade…so smooth, but not something that was sloshy and pourable). Brett put a lot of back work into it to get it mixed. Once it was mixed up he started shoveling the mix into the frame, while I spread it into the corners to make sure it was distributed evenly. Once it was all in Brett went to rinse the wheelbarrow and shovel while my mom tamped it all down to break all of the bubbles out and bring the “cream” (as Neal called it) to the top. We then smacked all around the outside of the frame with the rubber mallet to make sure the mortar got into the corners well and then Brett smoothed the top with the trowel, which brought more “cream” to the top. Once the top was perfectly smooth we were ready for the ironwork and the lettering. The mortar we used.

My mom tamping out the mortar.

Placing the Decoration and Letters

Placing the ironwork was done by eyeballing. I then laid it in place and smooshed it down as far as I could into the mortar. I then used the mallet to lightly tap it in a little deeper. Nails were placed in spots to anchor in the ironwork. I then placed the stick across the frame in the correct spots and began using my marked guides to press in the letters. My mom sprayed each letter with the cooking spray to prevent the mortar from sticking. As each letter was removed from the mortar she would rinse it in the bucket of water and dry to prepare it for it’s next use. Me laying out the guide stick.

Curing the Mortar

When the ironwork and the lettering were in place it was time to let the mortar cure. Since the stones were on the plywood on the dolly we just had to roll the dolly to the drying location, then pick up the plywood and place it in a dry spot for a few days. After about 48 hours Brett unscrewed the frame and the stone was moved to set on it’s side leaning on the wall so that air could flow freely around it and finish curing it.

Sealing the Headstones

After a week of curing it was time to seal the headstones. We took them outside and began using a very hard rock to smooth the edges and corners of the stone. After they were dusted off I used a small roller brush to apply a very thin coat of sealer. I allowed it to dry for about an hour, then applied more. I made sure to get a lot of sealer around the ironwork (to prevent staining from rust) and I made sure to coat the inside of all of the lettering. Then I let the sealer cure in the sun for a while, moving it to a dry place (the garage) to finishing curing for a week. Sealer drying on the bottom of the stones.

Placing the Headstones

My mom and I drove the headstones up to Tennessee for placing. And the way the stones are placed all depends on the cemetery. Some want rebar and all to be used, some just want pea gravel. I was told pea gravel, but when we got there the Rust family said to place them in the spots and they would do the permanent placing with concrete for us.

And that’s how Kat’s family got their stones!

A few notes concerning the stones:

I can’t actually tell you how much water we used, but it was more than 5 liters. When I measured out the 5 liters it left a lot of dry mortar. So I would start with that, but add more if needed.
Neal said that he found an easier way to get the mortar in the corners and get the bubbles out (and bring the “cream” to the top): use bladeless saws on the sides to vibrate the frame!
The “cream” actually leaves a very shiny coat to the top of the stone. The reason we used a sealer was because the cemetery required us to do it, but you don’t actually have to do it (unless you want to, I suppose).
We actually did one stone, Porter’s, as a tester. And his came out very well. When we first did Katie’s stone I wasn’t happy with it at all, so we pried the ironwork off it and started over again.
They are very heavy. One 80lb bag of mortar makes one headstone. So the headstones are 80lbs each.

The approximate cost to make five headstones (assuming you already have basic tools such as screws, mallet, trowel, nails, wheelbarrow, shovel, garbage bags, newspaper, cooking spray and rags):

2x4s = about $16
1 1/2” flat trim = about $6
Press-in Letters = $12.95 plus shipping, so we will just say about $13
Plywood boards = about $10
5 bags of Quikrete = about $30
Sealer = a gallon can is about $24 and we used roughly 1/4 gallon, so about $6
Accoutrements = Hobby Lobby has a large selection of wrought iron pieces for about $5 each, so about $25
Total approximate cost to make five headstones is about $106. That may seem like a lot, but as you can see here one single basic granite marker has a starting cost of $147.

The five we made are not perfect. Letters are slightly wonky, some edges aren’t perfectly straight (from the smoothing process). But these stones will last for hundreds of years. And they were handmade with love. Each epitaph was carefully selected for the person on who’s stone they were placed.

I am really glad that we were able to do this. And knowing that my family is pleased makes it all the better.

Betty Rust (helps oversee the cemetery), JJ Rust (carried the stones from the car to the gravesites), Billy Rust (helps oversee the cemetery), my son in his stroller, my mom, my 2nd cousin Polly, my great-aunt Kat, Polly’s husband James.

HENRY C.C. CRAFT

MAY 4, 1895

DECEMBER 27, 1971

IN JESUS’ NAME,

AMEN

(note: I asked Kat about her father’s middle name and it is Corbit. I thought it was Corbett since I had seen it spelled that way on certain records, but it is for certain Corbit. He went by CC or Corb, so CC seemed appropriate for his headstone. Henry CC Craft is my great-grandfather)

KATIE CLADY CATHEY CRAFT

DEC. 18, 1897

NOV. 25, 1935

HER MEMORY IS

ENSHRINED IN OUR

HEARTS FOREVER

(note: Katie Clady Cathey Craft is my great-grandmother)

JESSE PORTER

CRAFT

MARCH 11, 1929

APRIL 27, 1941

SAY A PRAYER

WHEN PASSING

(note: Jesse Porter Craft, known as Porter in the family, is my great-uncle)

LOUIS CRAFT HARRIS

DEC 12 1919

JAN 2 1949

BLESSED ARE THE

PURE IN HEART

(note: Louise Craft Harris is my great-aunt)

WRETHA JANE HARRIS

JAN. 26 1939

MAR. 7 1939

IN LOVING MEMORY

(note: Wretha Jane Harris is Louise’s daughter. She is my first cousin once removed)

Catheys in Bomar Hill Cemetery UPDATED

UPDATE at bottom of the page!

I am still searching for the grave of William Glenn Cathey. It’s driving me insane not knowing where he is buried. I really thought I was onto something when I left the house this morning, but I am now left with a headache and aggravation (and more determination to find his grave!).

Ok, so as I mentioned before there is a book out called Reflections From Our Past, A Pictorial History of Houston County, Tennessee (© 2001) that has the information in it that William Glenn Cathey passed away on July 4, 1906. It also says that he is buried in Nolan Cemetery in Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee. Two problems: 1) No one, and I mean no one as in funeral homes, courthouses, libraries, etc, have ever heard of Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee and 2) there are many Nolan Cemeteries in the area, two in Humphreys County (where Hurricane Mills is located and Hurricane Creek Road…you can see where this is headed). I called the Humphreys County Courthouse. I called two funeral homes. I called one gravedigger (yes, really…the guy digs graves for a living and apparently knows all of the cemeteries between Montgomery County and Gibson County). I called the Houston County Library (they have a copy of the book, and may have known who submitted the information for publication). I called the Humphreys County Library. The information I got:

there is a Nolan Cemetery in Waverly, Humphreys County, Tennessee about a half mile north of the courthouse.

according to Google Maps there is a Nolan Cemetery south of McEwen, Humphreys County, Tennessee off Hurricane Creek Road and Indian Creek Road. No one at any location I called ever heard of that Nolan Cemetery.

there is a Nolan Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee.

So pretty much I am waiting for someone to get back to me about this mysterious Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee location.

So today’s field trip. Well, before I get into that I have to backtrack. For a while now we have been seeing the name Will Cathey, year of death 1906, listed as having been interred in Bomar Hill Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee. But since there was no photo of the headstone, nor anything on how this information was found, we kinda sorta ignored it, but kept it in the back of our minds. Finally, I sent an email to the person who posted it (screen name Roe Lane at Find A Grave) and received an email back with a map of Bomar Hill Cemetery and information of its history.

Bomar Hill Cemetery is also known as Scarborough Cemetery, Gansner Cemetery and Cemetery 101 (by the Tennessee Valley Authority). Around 1940 plans were underway for the the filling of Kentucky Lake. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) set out to move graves if the families chose to do so. Gansner/Scarborough Cemetery became known as Cemetery 101, with each grave separately numbered. Family members were tracked down and given the opportunity to move their loved ones to other cemeteries, or just leave them be. About half of the interred from Cemetery 101 went to other cemeteries (oddly enough, right across the inlet…not far at all). But the other half stayed right where they were (are). There are six Catheys in the Bomar Hill Cemetery. They were not moved at all. HOWEVER, when I called TVA I was told that each grave had paperwork with it with the next-of-kin information! The TVA then said that they had sent all of the paperwork to the National Archives. Boo. Then I was given a phone number for the National Archives, with a contact name, and it’s the National Archives here in Georgia, just one county over from me! Yay! So today’s field trip was the drive to the National Archives in Morrow, Georgia.

I had sent an email yesterday, so when I arrived they already had the box pulled with the TVA cemetery files. So I set to work going through the folders, reading the paperwork involved. It was kind of heartbreaking. Page after page of graves that were unknown persons that the courts had decided to move to other cemeteries. Those that were moved had a disinterment page with the information on what shape the coffins were in, what shape the bodies were in, if new “containers” were used. The worst were the children. Each would have something like: coffin rotten, body badly decomposed, skull intact, infant, placed in 3’ container. I was actually very happy when I got to the Cathey pages so I didn’t have to read those anymore, though I wish I had made a copy of one to show on here.

Anyway, I get to the Catheys, specifically Will Cathey, and find out that he is not William Glenn Cathey. Unless he had a whole ‘nother family, that is. I’m just going to list the Catheys in Bomar Hill Cemetery, along with the paperwork, and the next-of-kin listed. I have looked up these names and I cannot place them anywhere for some reason! I haven’t been able to find them in the Cathey Family History and Genealogy (Boyt Henderson Cathey © 1993), but I also don’t know the maiden name of the Mattie Cathey on the list. I would love to find out how these Catheys tie into my line!

This is a map of Bomar Hill Cemetery, prior to moving graves.

The Catheys in question are highlighted

The individual records for each person:

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-1

Infant Cathey

Died 1902 (age Infant, presumed born in 1902)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – siblings of Infant Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-2

Sam Cathey

Died 1902 (age 5, presumed born in 1897)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – siblings of Sam Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-3

Ethel Cathey

Died 1910 (age 10 months, presumed born in 1909/10)

Next-of-kin: Lillian C Watkins (Dover, Tenn, R2) – mother of Ethel Cathey

* (this is the one I was most interested in seeing)

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-10

Will Cathey

Died 1906 (age 35 years, presumed born in 1871)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – children of Will Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-11

Mattie Cathey

Died 1910 (age 55 years, presumed born in 1855)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – children of Mattie Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-12

Franklin Angelo Cathey

Died 1906 (age unknown)

Next-of-kin: Mrs Maud Cathey (1794 Livernois, Detroit, Mich) – mother of Franklin Angelo Cathey

UPDATE: Ok, I figured it out…it took a moment, though. Will Cathey is the second cousin of my William Glenn Cathey. It goes back to their great-grandfather George Cathey Sr (1765-1840) married Martha Wilson. Two of their children were John Cathey and George Cathey Jr. John married Winnie Bradley. One of their sons was John Cathey Jr who married Rebecca Vickers. John Jr and Rebecca had a son named William S Cathey. And that’s the Will Cathey in Bomar Hill Cemetery. Now, back to George Cathey Jr. He married Eliza Carter. One of their sons was named Archibald Cathey. Archibald married Isabella Lankford. Archibald and Isabella had a son named William Glenn Cathey who is my great-great-grandfather. And that makes Will and Will second cousins! Ta da!

What Happened to Riley Leonard Cathey?

My relationship to Riley Leonard Cathey:

Virginia Marie Stalls (my mom)

Ruth May Craft (grandmother)

Katie Clady Cathey (great-grandmother)

Riley Leonard Cathey (Katie’s brother, my great-grand-uncle?)

I am at a total loss as to what happened to Riley Leonard Cathey. There are exactly 3 records of him: a handwritten record of his birth (which my 3rd cousin found in an old photo album and emailed to me!) and two census records.

Riley Leonard Cathey was born on October 19, 1889 in Houston County, Tennessee to parents William Glenn Cathey (abt 1861-1906) and Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers (1870-1952).

(note: halfway through the list of names and dates it mentioned that it was written by Mrs. Granville Baker of Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The bottom of the page says By: Mary Nell Derrington 10-22-74. I sent a copy to Donald Baker, the son of Maggie Smith – aka Mrs. Granville Baker – to see if it was her writing and he said no. he didn’t know who Mary Nell Derrington was, though)

In 1900 he was living in Indian Bayou, Lonoke County, Arkansas. He is listed as Riley Cathey, age 10 years. His occupation, adorably enough, is “Play Only”. He was able to read and write. His parent’s are listed as Will G Cathey (age 36 years) and Elizabeth Cathey (age 30 years). The siblings living in the household were: Archie (Acra, age 6 years), Georgie (Arlee, age 4 years) and Katie (age 2 years).

The final record I have for Riley is the 1910 census. He was living in Gibson County, Tennessee with the Morgan Family. He is listed as 20 years of age. He is listed as a “servant” in relation to the head of household, but he is apparently a farm hand for them.

And that’s it. That’s all I can find in the way of records for him.

The photo that was taken of the Cathey family just before William Glenn Cathey died in 1906 has all of the kids except Riley. He would have been about 16 or 17years of age. So I wonder if he left then?

In 1910 his mother was widowed and living in Hurricane Mills, Humphreys County, Tennessee, roughly 75 miles from where he was a farm laborer in Gibson County. I can’t imagine why he went out there, unless (perhaps) he was headed back to Arkansas? According to the 1910 census he had been out of work for 10 weeks in 1909, but I don’t know if that was consecutive weeks or not. That might have been 10 weeks of really slow travel time for all I know.

Tennessee didn’t start requiring death certificates until 1914, so if he died prior to then, and no headstone was erected and no record kept, then we may never know. There are no WWI draft registration cards for him, no military service records at all.

I had read on a forum a while back that the family story was that he left home very young and no one from the Cathey family ever saw or heard from him again, and I am beginning to think that is true. Most of the distant cousins that are direct descendants of Riley’s siblings have never heard of him. Honestly, with the census records and the copy of Lizzie’s family records, I never would have known about him either.

In some ways his disappearance paints him in very bad light. But then again, I don’t know when he left or what the circumstances were.

I would really like to find out what happened with Riley Leonard Cathey, as much as I would like to know how his father William Glenn Cathey died and where he is buried (where both are buried would be wonderful, actually).

Acra Archie Cathey-UPDATED

I have been meaning to do a post on Acra Archie Cathey for a while because his death is somewhat of a mystery, or has just been hush-hushed by family, but I haven’t gotten around to it until now. It was emails from two of his great-granddaughters that finally pushed me to write the post, and hopefully someone who has information about him will come forward with what really happened.

Acra Archie Cathey was born July 24, 1893 in Danville, Stewart County, Tennessee (though his death record says Danville, Hickman County, Tennessee…but Danville is in Stewart County) to parents William Glenn Cathey (1861-1906) and Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers (1870-1952). He was their second born.

The first census that Acra appears on is in 1900 with his family in Indian Bayou, Lonoke County, Arkansas, age 6 years. The others listed on the census are his father Will G Cathey (tipping blocks, age 36 years), his mother Elizabeth (age 30 years), older brother Riley (play only, age 10 years), younger brother Georgie (age 4 years) and younger sister Katie (age 2 years).

By 1910 the family had returned to Tennessee and Acra’s father had passed away. The family is found living in the Eighth District of Humphreys County, Tennessee. Acra is listed as Acry (as his name is pronounced), a farm laborer, age 16 years. His brother Riley is no longer living with the family (another mystery). The others in the household were his mother Elizabeth Cathey (age 36 years-wrong), his younger brother Arlee (George, farm laborer, age 13 years), younger sister Katie (age 12 years), younger sister Ludie (listed as Larine?, age 7 years), younger brother William (age 4 years) and younger sister Maggie (age 2 months-note: I had previously thought it said she was 2 1/2 years, but I was wrong on that. It still doesn’t answer why she was listed as a Cathey if she was actually a Smith, but this suggests that she was born out of wedlock).

I’m not sure why, but Acra’s WWI Draft Registration card has his birth year as 1894, which is a year later than his actual birth. The card lists his occupation as a Teamster for Evan’s & (?). He was short and stout, with blue eyes, light hair, had all of his hair and had all arms and legs.

In 1920 Acra shows up in Cross Keys, DeKalb County, Georgia at Camp Gordon United States Military Reservation. He is listed on the census as Acra A Cathey, a soldier, age 26 years. He is shown as a Corporal for the United States Army.

In 1923 Acra was back in Tennessee. He married Annie Lou Pickard on November 18, 1923 in Dyer County, Tennessee.

The 1930 census shows Acra and his family living in Third Civil District, Madison County, Tennessee. He is listed as Acra Cathey, a farmer, age 36 years. Also in the household were is wife Annie (age 24 years), son Arthur D (age 4 years 8 months) and daughter Dorothy E (age 7 months).

I am eagerly awaiting the release of the 1940 census in April 2012! Acra and Annie Lou had three other children after 1930: Annie Katherine, Francis and Clifford. I look forward to doing posts on them soon when I get stories about them!

Acra Archie Cathey passed away on December 31, 1944 in Humboldt, Madison County, Tennessee. And here is where it gets interesting. According to his death certificate he died from a fractured skull and vertebra (neck?) when he was struck by either a truck or other vehicle out on the highway. There are other theories surrounding his death, however. The one that the family has most often heard was that he was struck over the head with a hammer over either a livestock thief or by someone close to the family due to a feud. My grandmother always said that her Uncle Acra was murdered, as his nephew says, too. Though no one seems to be able to say how. If my grandmother knew then she never told my mom, and I wonder if she told anyone else, or if she even knew how it happened. I’m hoping to get to the bottom of this mystery, though. We are going to ask around to relatives and see if they know.

UPDATE: After making some phone calls my mom discovered that Acra Archie Cathey did indeed die due to being hit on the head with a hammer. It seems to have happened near some railroad tracks. Which makes me question as to why Madison County, Tennessee appears to have covered up the cause of death. The way I figure, a coroner should have (and still) know the difference between a head being hit with a hammer and a head being hit with a car. Perhaps it was a rookie coroner?

Bring Out The (figurative) Bloodhounds

Trying to track the maternal line of a family is pretty difficult (unless you are royalty, in which case you probably aren’t making your family tree since it’s been recorded throughout the years anyway). Pretty much women weren’t as important to keep up with back in the day. Really, up until 1850 when everyone in the household was required to be listed by name on the census records, the only place you could find a woman’s name was in a family Bible, marriage and divorce records and/or possibly wills. So, in an effort to keep the maternal lines of my parents fresh in your mind, I decided to list them along with the information I have (and the information I don’t have yet). Enjoy!

My direct maternal line (beginning with my grandmother):

Ruth May Craft

b. August 9, 1925 Gibson County, Tennessee

d. January 14, 2007 Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee

Katie Clady Cathey

b. December 18, 1897 Indian Bayou, Lonoke County, Arkansas

d. November 25, 1935 Trenton, Gibson County, Tennessee

Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers

b. March 15, 1870 Tennessee

d. October 20, 1952 Martin, Weakley County, Tennessee

Amanda Summers

b. abt 1852 Tennessee

d. abt 1889 Tennessee

Emily Jane Duffel

b. abt 1822 Tennessee

d. aft 1880 Tennessee

Susan McCarroll

b. abt 1800 North Carolina

d. aft 1860 Tennessee

Susan Currey

b. abt 1770 Rockingham County, North Carolina

d. aft 1830 Williamson County, Tennessee

Elizabeth Brownlee

b. ?

d. aft 1790 Rockingham County, North Carolina

(note: I have spelled Currey as Currie in other posts and on the sidebar. It has come to light that it may actually be Currey. Also, Elizabeth Brownlee’s last name might have actually been Brownlees. I am awaiting confirmation before I change them, though. Another important note to add concerns Emily Jane Duffel. Though she seems to be listed everywhere on the internet as Susan McCarroll’s daughter, I haven’t actually seen any confirmation on it. I mean, I pretty much assumed since the census records for Susan’s husband, Allen Duffel, list an extra female-older than the rest of the children-that the Houston County, Tennessee: History and Families (Turner Publishing Company, 1995) failed to list (which isn’t surprising, considering the book is trying to tell me that Emily Jane Duffel and Basil Pinkney Summers married in 1830, which would mean Emily was about 8 years old…in reality they married about 1839). Also, there wasn’t another Duffel family in the area that I have found.)

My father, Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent)’s, direct maternal line, beginning with his mother, my grandmother:

Louise Rose

b. March 20, 1923 Muhlenberg County, Kentucky

d. January 9, 2004 Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky

Nellie Lillian Claxton

b. abt 1893 Kentucky

d. abt 1962 Indiana

Willie Melton

b. abt 1873 Kentucky

d. aft 1920 Kentucky?

Hepseba Powell

b. abt 1848 Indiana

d. ? Kentucky?

Alice Bean

b. abt 1824 Virginia

d. aft 1880 Indiana?

(note: as you can see, I don’t have much information on this line at all. I haven’t found the death records of Lilly Claxton or Willie Melton yet, mainly because I haven’t figured out what mix of first, middle and married names might be on the records. I haven’t found Hepsy on a census after 1880 yet.)

Henry Corbett Craft

Henry Corbett (or Corbit) Craft was the son of John Craft and Epanetes Willhite. He was born on May 4, 1895 in Hickman County, Tennessee. Most everyone called him CC throughout his life, but his second wife, Maudie, called him Corb.

In 1900 CC was living in Hickman County, Tennessee with his parents and siblings. The family’s last name was misspelled as Croft. An odd thing about the 1900 census is that it has his father, John, as “in school” and “farm laborer”. It also says that his mother, Epanetes, is “in school”. I think that the enumerator may have been mistaken (I mean, surely they weren’t in their 30s and in school, right?). His siblings listed (and I can’t say that these names are correct) are: Ivey A (age 16 years), James (age 14 years), Caha L (age 11 years), Alley (age 8 years), Katey P (age 6 years) and William (age 3 years). CC is listed as Henry C (age 4 years).

In 1910 the family was still living in Hickman County, Tennessee. His father is listed as John and his mother is listed as Epsey. This time the family’s last name is correct as Craft. The siblings he lived with at the time were (again, I don’t know which names are correct): Santford (age 23 years), Pearl (age 16 years), Willie (age 12 years) and Robert (age 9 years). The census does list his name as Henry, but the transcriber entered in as Hemroy (which makes me giggle very unprofessionally).

Henry Corbett Craft married Katie Clady Cathey on July 18, 1915 in Humphreys County, Tennessee.

In 1920 the family is living in Gibson County, Tennessee. The family’s last name, once again, is misspelled as Croft. On this census record Henry is listed quite clearly as Aubrey, though I cannot figure out why. Katie’s name is misspelled as Katty. They have two children: Nettie Sue (age 2 years 10 months) and Louise (age 1 month). CC was, at this time, a laborer in a cotton mill. Though the census record just has Katie as “at home” I think that she worked the cotton fields.

Over the course of the next 10 years CC and Katie had four more children, one, a daughter, which was stillborn.

On the 1930 census the family is living in Gibson County, Tennessee. The census transcriber had put Eraft as their last name, and I will admit it is kind of difficult to make it out. The children listed on this census are : Nettie S (age 13 years), Louise (age 10 years), Maggie N (age 8 years), Ruthie May (misspelled as Reathi, Rarthi-depending on whether you look at Family Search or Ancestry, age 4 years 7 months) and Jessie P (age 1 year and 1 month).

After 1930 CC and Katie had three more children: Mary Katherine (born 1931) and twins, John and Unnamed (born 1935). The Unnamed was a stillborn that had apparently quit developing long before John was born since it was small enough to have been buried in a kitchen matchbox. Katie passed away within a couple days of the twins’ birth in 1935.

In 1936 CC married Maudie Berkley. They did not have children together (that are known), but CC did get a stepson from Maudie’s previous marriage.

Henry Corbett Craft died on December 27, 1971 at Butler Nursing Home in Milan, Gibson County, Tennessee where he had been under care for about 3 months. He is buried in Double Springs Cemetery near Milan, Gibson County, Tennessee.

It was understood that he had been a sharecropper in his earlier years. Later in life CC owned a shop where he repaired shoes and made brooms and mops to sell. My mother said “he’d have a mouthful of tacks that he spit out onto the shoe (quite accurately, I might add) and then tap, tap, tap it into the shoe sole”.

CC was a religious man later in life. As a young man he had been a heavy drinker. One night after drinking quite a bit an angel appeared to him on his way home and grabbed the reigns of the horse (or mule, perhaps). This apparently changed his life. He had prophetic dreams throughout his life, including one concerning the death of his son John’s twin.

He said very long prayers at meals and would end the prayers with a long, drawn out “Aaaaameeeeeen” and look up with tears in his eyes.

At one point he was a member of a Church of God congregation that was further into the country and in an old house with creaking wood floors. Because the members of the church would dance around speaking in tongues, the state of the floors really concerned my mother (I guess she imagined the floors just giving way one day!).

More Thoughts On Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers

I had a revelation last night while perusing the census records for the Summers family that may be a stretch, but in some ways it makes perfect sense (whether or not my idea is truth or not, I don’t know yet…more research will need to be done, but…).

So we already know that I have not been able to locate Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers on the 1870 census, even though she was supposedly born in March of 1870, presumably in Stewart County, Tennessee, and the census for that year in Stewart County wasn’t enumerated until August. And we already know that the woman everyone thinks is her mother, Amanda M Summers, shows up on the 1870 Stewart County census living with her parents sans Lizzie.

But what if that particular Amanda Summers is not Lizzie mother?

According to Lizzie’s death certificate James Franklin Summers and Amanda Summers are her parents. And according to the Proctor family James Anderson Proctor is her father. I’m not really sure why this idea has arisen, unless Lizzie, Leona or Leon told people that was the case. And I’m not saying that Leona and Leon aren’t, I’m saying that I don’t think JA Proctor is Lizzie’s father.

This post also touches base again that just because a death record or census record says something it doesn’t make it true.

Facts according to the census records:

1850 is the first year that the Federal Government required that all persons living in a household be accounted for by name on the census records (prior to 1850 certain states here and there listed each individual family member, but it wasn’t required and those are separate state census records, not federal).

In 1850 Pink and Emily are living in Stewart County, Tennessee with their children (born by the time that census was enumerated): Thomas (age 10 years), Rebecca (age 8 years), James (age 5 years), Green (Greenberry, age 2 years) and Francis (Mary?, age 2 months). (note: the Summers family lived next door to the Cathey family, as in Archibald Cathey and his parents. Archibald is the supposed father of William Glenn Cathey who is future husband of Lizzie).

In 1860 Pink and Emily are living in Stewart County, Tennessee with their children (born by the time that census was enumerated): Thomas (age 20 years), Rebecca (age 18 years), James (age 16 years), Green (Greenberry, age 12 years), Mary (Francis?, age 11 years), Amanda (age 9 years) and Louisa (age 7 years).

In 1870 Pink and Emily are living in Stewart County, Tennessee with their children that are still at home (presumably the others have moved out) and two children that I cannot say for certain are their children, since they should have been on the 1860 census with them if they are (but they weren’t): Greenberry (age 23 years), Amanda (age 18), Clementine (Louisa?, age 16 years) and the two that don’t fit in at all: Anderson (age 15 years) and Rufus (age 13 years). (note: who are the parents of Anderson and Rufus? The census for 1870 doesn’t give how each person is related to head of household, like the 1880 census does. I haven’t yet found them on another census, but I am still looking).

Ok, so now we get down to the 1880 census. Pink has by now passed (haven’t found him on the 1850-1885 Mortality Schedule yet, though). Emily is head of household living with her children: Greenberry (age 32 years) and Amanda (age 28 years). Both Greenberry and Amanda are still Single. Also in the household are the three children *thought* to be Amanda’s: Lizzie (age 10 years), Leona (age 6 years) and Infant (Leon, age 1 month). The three children are listed as Emily’s grandchildren. There is also a boarder listed by the name of Ritchard (age 19 years) that also has the last name Summers (unless the enumerated just didn’t feel like getting his actual last name).

After 1860 Thomas, Rebecca, James and Francis/Mary are no longer found (at least not easily, since I have not yet located them).

After 1870 Louisa (Clementine?) has married and can be found with her husband, last name McMillan. Anderson and Rufus are not found. Pink has passed (as Emily is listed as widowed in 1880).

After 1880 Emily and Amanda are not found. They have presumably passed, also. There is no census for 1890. I have not yet been able to find Leon on the 1900 census, though in 1902 he married Lassie Burton Bellar in Stewart County, Tennessee leading me to believe he probably lived with Greenberry and not James Anderson Proctor. Both Lizzie and Leona married on August 26, 1889 and can be found on the 1900 census with their husbands.

So I am going to present two common theories about Lizzie’s parents to the readers (one less common than the second):

Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and James Anderson Proctor, the man Amanda married in late 1880, are in fact Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers parents.

Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and James Franklin Summers, brother to Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and husband of Tennessee Porter Outlaw, are Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers parents.

Now for a new theory:

What if neither of those theories is correct?

We don’t actually have any proof that Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, is the mother of any of the three possibly illegitimate children, Lizzie being the main person we are focusing on here. The only thing we know is that they are listed on the 1880 census as Emily’s grandchildren. James Anderson Proctor was not the person that signed the marriage bonds for Lizzie and Leona, rather it was Greenberry Summers, Amanda’s brother, that signed them. You would think that if JA Proctor were their father he would have signed the bonds. Remember, this was before he married Sarah Hamm and moved to Missouri. This doesn’t mean that Amanda had died by August of 1889, either. Because we have no proof. I have yet to see a document stating exactly where, when and how she died. Basically, there is no proof anywhere of Amanda M Summers even being their mother, nor them ever having lived with Amanda and JA Proctor after their marriage OR of JA Proctor ever having anything to do with them.

We have Lizzie’s death certificate that names her parents as James Franklin Summers and Amanda Summers. Let’s think about this: if we go back to the 1850 and 1860 census we see that Pink and Emily have a son named James. Granted, it doesn’t give us a middle name, or initial, but it is possible that he was named after his uncle. The Summers family tended to use the same given names over and over: Basil, Greenberry, Pinkney, James, Margaret, Clementine, Emily, etc. If James Summers (son of Pink and Emily) is the father of Lizzie then it is quite possible that he married someone by the name of Amanda, or someone who went by the name Amanda, and when it came time to fill out the death record no one knew what her maiden name had been (as a quick example of how a name can escape a census record: throughout Lizzie’s life she is known on different census records as Lizzie, Margaret, and Elizabeth).

Since I cannot find James Summers (as of yet) on any census record after 1860 is it possible that, if he were married to an Amanda and they had Lizzie, that perhaps they moved from one area where the census hadn’t yet been enumerated in 1870 to an area where it had already been enumerated for that year? And is it possible that they had two more children, Leona and Leon, and then both somehow passed before the 1880 census, whereas the children then show up on that census with their grandmother? It is always completely possible that if a scenario similar (or exactly) like that happened, then Amanda may have taken over the maternal role for the children until her marriage to JA Proctor, without actually being their mother.

I know, I know. That’s quite a stretch. But I fe
el as if it is completely plausible considering Lizzie cannot be found on the 1870 census whatsoever.

As for the census records and birth records being correct, I have already gone over the inconsistencies in other posts. But I will give you another grand example:

In 1830, when the census was enumerated on April 2, Amanda M Summers’ brother Greenberry is living with Lizzie and her second husband William “Bill” Green Smith in Hurricane Mills, Humphrey County, Tennessee. The census says he is 84 years old. When he died on November 25 of the same year the death record has his age as 86 years and no one knows who his parents are. The same 1930 census has Lizzie’s grandson, Raymond Daniel, living with them, but Raymond is also shown living in his parent’s household that same year.

So, let’s recap really quickly:

Are Lizzie’s parents Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and James Anderson Proctor?

Are Lizzie’s parents Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and James Franklin Summers, brother of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and husband of Tennessee Porter Outlaw?

Are Lizzie’s parents Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and a man from another Summers family with the name James Franklin Summers? (note: there was at least one other James Franklin Summers out there, but it seems as though he lived in East Tennessee or North Carolina…where Lizzie’s family had relocated from to Tennessee, anyway…I don’t know why I can’t find the webpage that describes where in Tennessee he moved).

Are Lizzie’s parents Amanda M Summers, daughter of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and a Mystery Man?

Are Lizzie’s parents James Summers, son of Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers and Emily Jane Duffel, and a wife named Amanda, maiden name unknown?

Or none of the above?

A good question to ask, also, is: why were Lizzie and her daughter Katie so adamant that no one find out they were Native American? Tracing back through the families I am unable to find any Native American, with the exception of Tennessee Porter Outlaw who, if I understand correctly, was at some point listed in court records as “Cherokee Woman”. But if, by some chance, Lizzie is her daughter, then you’d think she would keep her considering that she had a total of 13 children, several born after Lizzie’s birth.

It’s all kind of sketchy, huh?

Thoughts? I welcome them! Documentation? I more than welcome it!

Category: Cathey Family

A Few Family Members In 1940

Lizzie Was Here (and so was the rest of the family!)

State of Tennessee v Acra Archie Cathey 1917

Headstones: History in the Making

Catheys in Bomar Hill Cemetery UPDATED

What Happened to Riley Leonard Cathey?

Acra Archie Cathey-UPDATED

Bring Out The (figurative) Bloodhounds

Henry Corbett Craft

More Thoughts On Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers

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