Others’ Families – Page 3 – Digging Up Your Family

June and Davis Families Swap

Sometimes I come across some of the most interesting stories during my research that have absolutely nothing to do with my family.

This was published on June 24, 1929 in the Pottstown Mercury (Pottstown, Pennsylvania), page 2.

MRS. EDITH JUNE, LEFT, AND MRS. MILDRED DAVIS WITH SOME OF THEIR CHILDREN

Two rural wives of Columbiaville, Mich., one a grandmother of 47, the other 27, have swapped husbands, divided up 14 children evenly and shifted a cow to the home of the younger woman so that there would be fresh milk for the younger children. That’s he amazing disclosure made by the women, Mrs. Mildred Davis, 27, now keeping house for Clarence June, 42, and Mrs. Edith June, 47, no doing the cooking for George Davis, 45. The two husbands and two wives, still friends, have agreed to immediate divorces so that each may marry the other. Mrs. Davis is caring for her four little girls and three of the June children. Mrs. June, who is the mother of 12 children, is keeping seven of her own children. Two of her daughters are married and don’t figure in the deal. “We’re all perfectly happy,” they explain. “We’re keeping everything straight and honest.”

What’s Going On

In the past month or so I have had a lot going on, and I hope that it will start to calm down after the holidays. I took 2 months off from school because a) I needed a short break, and b) so I would have time for research. And research I have been doing, though I have been jumping back and forth between trees. Anyway, what I have been up to:

1) I had a mishap a couple of months ago with photographs to post at The Georgia Anna Project. My son got his hands on some photographs and mixed them up. So I will need to go back through and separate them all out (currently some of the Pennsylvania photos are mixed in with the Vermont photos, but luckily I remember which group most go in). Last month I did post new photographs that I purchased from a little shop down the road here and at least one of them is from Brooklyn, New York. The name of that gentleman is Edward Shields. Go check it out!

2. I got started on a new genealogy blog, Beyond the Indian Rolls, dedicated specifically to American Indian heritage and genealogy. This is a special project that came up due to my Granddaddy’s friend William Hendrix Yernipcut. I have started researching his family and I have to say it is really interesting! The information takes a while to compile, but I am really excited about it.

3. When I get frustrated with my own family tree I find that it is nice to have a different family to work on. SO, I currently have several trees I started for a few friends. Some of the surnames include:

– Gorman, Carroll, Morton, Flynn

– Kelly (includes adoption)

– Moreno, Martinez, Escalante

– Rucker, Harris, Windom, Walden, Stonestreet, Head, Cole

– Strange, Henderson, Orr, Bailey

– Nichols, Powell, Salmon, Rickman, Armes, Sullivant

4. In addition, I am still working on my tree and still trying to solve some mysteries:

– The exact date of death for John Spencer DeMumbrie. If you remember, I decided that he died sometime between May 1, 1875 and September 4, 1876 (that post is here). I am still looking to narrow it down!

– Who did Peter McQueen kill? I had found a newspaper article that listed the murdered man’s last name (that post here) and I set out to figure out who it could possibly be. Here, you can see an example of my in depth, extremely technical research:

I had come to the conclusion that it must have been John Flowers, b. abt 1814. Unfortunately, though, it isn’t. I was able to get in touch with one of his descendants and she confirmed that he didn’t die until 1869, four years after Peter killed the man. So who was it? Both her and I have gone through the Flowers families in the area (Choctaw County, Mississippi) and every single male can be accounted for, either through death in other years or appearing on the 1870 census. Sigh.

– Where is the death certificate for Eppie Nettie Willhite Craft? I know from her daughter Cofie’s letters that she was born in August of 1860 and died on January 29, 1938. I am unsure where she died, though I am VERY confident it was in the state of Tennessee. Great-aunt Kat remembers that after Eppie’s husband John died (December 3, 1936) Eppie came to live with them for just a little bit. She doesn’t remember how long, but if we are to believe Henry Corbit Craft on the 1940 census record then it means they were in Houston County, Tennessee at the time. Kat doesn’t remember where Eppie went when she left their home, though I imagine she would have moved in with one of her children (possibly Cofie?). Eppie is buried at Double Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gibson County, Tennessee (again, I know this because of the letters Cofie wrote), the same cemetery that John C Craft, Henry Corbit Craft, Katie Clady Cathey, Louise Craft, Jesse Porter Craft, Wretha Jane Harris, Maggie Nell Craft, and Woodrow Wilson Phillips are buried.

– And speaking of Craft, I have been working on a few Craft cousins’ trees. Well, I can’t be certain that they are blood Craft cousins, but I can always keep my fingers crossed! I got some interesting information for Frederick Owen Craft that makes all of the previous research done on him (concerning his parents) suspect. I need to figure out where the current information about his parents came from, though, before I can determine which path to take during research.

If anyone has any information about any of this, let me know! I would love to hear what you have!

Wendell Reed Alcorn

I really should have done this post on September 20th. The 3rd Friday of September is always National POW/MIA Recognition Day. However, to be honest, it didn’t dawn on me to do a post about this until the other day. On my newsfeed I saw that my mother answered a question posed by a particular page asking “how many of you still have your POW/MIA bracelets?” To which I knew she had answered that she still had hers. I sent her a message asking if she ever looked the soldier up and she said that she did. Then I got the bright idea to do a post on him, especially when I found his story.

note: I am currently watching a documentary about the USS Enterprise on the Smithsonian channel called Carrier at War: The USS Enterprise. It has been very informative.

My mother writes:

“In 1966 I had the opportunity to purchase a Vietnam POW or MIA bracelet. As I recall my POW bracelet was $2.00. Along with all POWs and MIAs, LCDR Wendell Alcorn, 12/22/1965, was the individual POW I prayed for and thought about every day. In 1973 the return of POWs was broadcast on TV, and I sat watching and listening for his name as each POW walked from planes back onto US soil. I knew he had to have returned, but somehow I missed hearing his name. Perhaps I merely missed hearing his name because I was sobbing with joy at their return.”

Photo courtesy of The Kittanning Paper, April 6, 2012.

Found at POW Network:

“When nuclear powered USS ENTERPRISE arrived on Yankee Station on December 2, 1965, she was the largest warship ever built. She brought with her not only an imposing physical presence, but also an impressive component of warplanes and the newest technology. Her air wing (CAG 9) consisted of
more than ninety aircraft. Among her attack squadrons were VA 36, VA 93, VA 76 and VA 94. She launched her opening combat strike against targets in North Vietnam on December 17, and by the end of her first week of combat operations, the ENTERPRISE had set a record of 165 combat sorties in a
single day, surpassing the KITTY HAWK’s 131. By the end of her first combat cruise, her air wing had flown over 13,000 combat sorties. The record had not been achieved without cost.

On December 22, the ENTERPRISE teamed with the carriers KITTY HAWK and TICONDEROGA in one of the war’s biggest strikes to date, with one hundred aircraft hitting the thermal power plant at Uong Bi located fifteen miles north-northeast of the city of Haiphong. This was the first industrial target authorized by the Johnson administration. The ENTERPRISE’s aircraft approached from the north and the KITTY HAWK/TICONDEROGA force from the south, leaving the plant in shambles. The day’s casualties were two A4Cs from the ENTERPRISE, an RA5C Vigilante, and an A6A Intruder — six Americans shot down.

One of the A4s was flown by LTJG Wendell R. Alcorn, a pilot from Attack Squadron 36 onboard the ENTERPRISE. Alcorn’s aircraft was shot down about 15 miles north-northeast of Haiphong and he was captured by the North Vietnamese. For the next 7 years, Alcorn was a "guest" in the Hanoi prison system. He was ultimately released in Operation Homecoming on Valentine’s Day, 1973.”

Also on POW Network:

Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and spelling errors).

UPDATE – 03/97 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO

WENDELL R. ALCORN

Lieutenant Commander – United States Navy

Shot Down: December 22, 1965

Released: February 12, 1973

On 23 November 1939 I entered this world in a rural community near Snyderville, Pennsylvania, located in the western part of the state. I grew up in this community along with my older brother and younger sister. I remember well the many evenings that I would lie in our back yard watching the crossing contrails of the fighter aircraft practicing their tactics overhead. My future was being determined.

I attended high school in the nearby town of Dayton, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1957. My next destination was the Pennsylvania State University where I majored in forestry and was a member of the Delta Theta Sigma fraternity. I graduated from Penn State in 1961.

My life long dream of flying was finally fulfilled in October 1961 when the U.S. Navy accepted me into the flight training program. On 16 March 1962 I proudly accepted my commission and began flight training. On 14 June 1963 I became a qualified Naval Aviator. After a short tour at the NAVAL Justice School I arrived at Cecil Field, Florida where I joined my squadron, Attack Squadron 36, flying the A4 Skyhawk. Shortly after returning from a Mediterranean Cruise aboard "Saratoga," my squadron joined Air Group 9 aboard the USS Enterprise for a West Pac cruise. My first combat tour was cut short when on 22 December 1965 after twenty days and twenty-nine combat missions, I was shot down and captured in North Vietnam.

I was sustained during those long years in prison by my faith in God, faith in my government, and faith in my fellow countrymen. I knew I had not been nor would ever be forgotten. Upon my repatriation, I was overjoyed to find that these faiths which gave me so much help and comfort were not merely figments of my imagination, but were very true and real.

I thank you great American people for your support, your prayers and for your faith in me. God bless you all.”

According to Military Times, Mr. Alcorn was presented the following awards: two Silver Stars, four Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Prisoner of War Medal.

An interesting side note: I read a newspaper article about Mr. Alcorn written roughly 6 months after his return home that has his name as Ray Alcorn. According to the article the name Ray is a nickname he got in the Navy when people guessed wrong what his middle initial stood for. And it just stuck!

I would also like to take a second to mentions others from the USS Enterprise, as listed on the United States Navy website on their USS Enterprise Memorial Page:

Prisoners of War

LCDR Alfred Howard Agnew

LTJG Joseph Scott Mobley

LCDR Edwin Arthur Shuman III

LTJG Wendell Reed Alcorn

CDR James Alfred Mulligan

LTJG Bradley Edsel Smith

LTJG Frederick C. Baldock Jr.

CDR Gordon R. Nakagawa

LTJG Larry Howard Spencer

< p>LTJG Glenn Henri Daigle

LCDR Robert J. Naughton

LCDR William Robert Stark

LCDR Dale W. Doss

LT Giles R. Norrington

LT Richard G. Tangeman

LT Kenneth H. Higdon

LTJG Richard R. Ratzlaff

ENS Gary Lynn Thorton

LCDR Eugene Baker McDaniel

LTJG William Leonard Shankel

LCDR Phillip Allen Kientzler

Missing In Action

LCDR Kurt W. Barich

LTJG Meredith Carol Loughran

LTJG Charles E. Woodward

CDR Billie Jack Cartwright

LT Edward Frances "Sully" Sullivan

Died In Captivity

LTJG James Scott Graham

LT James Kelly Patterson

Killed In Action

LTJG Paul M. Artlip

LT Michael F. Haifley

LT John Douglas Prudhomme

LTJG Paul Victor Carlson

CDR Harley Hubert Hall

CDR Edgar Arthur Rawsthorne

LT Nicholas M. Carpenter

LT Arthur Sinclair Hill, Jr.

CDR Richard Rich

LT Ramey L. Carpenter

LTJG William F. Kohlrusch

LTJG James Thomas Ruffin

LT Frank Ray Compton

CDR Glenn Edward Kollmann

LCDR Thomas Edwin Scheurich

LCDR Henry A. Coons

ADJ1 Melvin Thomas Krech

CDR Peter W. Sherman

LT Edward Frank Gold

LTJG Richard Clive Lannom

LT Thomas Stegman

Maj Russell C. Goodman

LCDR Max Duane Lukenbach

LCDR John Bethel Tapp

CDR William Ronald Grayson

LTJG Donald Clay Maclaughlin, Jr.

LCDR John Mark Tiderman

LT John Gary Griffith

LCDR Paul W. Paine

CDR Danforth E. White

Killed in the Flight Deck Fire of January 14, 1969

FA Paul Akers

ASH3 Roger L. Holbrook

ABE3 Jacob J. Quintis

AN David M. Asbury

AN Dale L. Hunt

BM2 James C. Snipes

LTJG Carl D. Berghult

AOAN Donald R. Lacy

AN Russell J. Tyler

LTJG James H. Berry

ADJ3 Armando Limon

AN LaVerne R. VonFeldt

AO3 Richard W. Bovaird

AME3 Dennis E. Marks

AN Robert C. Ward Jr.

AE Patrick L. Bullington

ABH1 James P. Martineau

AN John R. Webster

AMS3 James R. Floyd Jr.

AOAN Joseph C. Mason

AMS2 Henry S. Yates, Jr.

AN Ernest L. Foster

AMH2 Dennis R. Milburn

AMS3 Jerome D. Yoakum

AN Delbert D. Girty

AN Joseph W. Oates

AEC Ronald E. Hay

LTJG Buddy D. Pyeatt

Killed in the Line of Duty While Serving Aboard ENTERPRISE (CVN 65)

CDR Robert Anderson

MM3 Micah Hill

LT Jack L. Pedersen

LCDR Kurt W. Barich

LT Arthur S. Hill

AA Barry E. Peterman

LTJG Darwin F. Ball

LCDR Jeff Hillard

MM2 Gregory S. Peters

LT Ronald R. Bradley

MM2 Darek T. Hutt

RIO David Hewitt Philo

AN John R. Burch

William Larry Johnson

RMC Larry M. Pope

CWO4 Brashear

CDR James M. Joyce

LTJG Charles Roy

Samuel Walter Clayman

ENS Joseph B. Kelly, Jr.

AN David Frank Sahr

AMS3 Edwin H. Clements

Robert Kelly

EM3 Charles J. Sanders

Clarence Cottle

LSCM Richard J. Kessler, Jr.

MM2 Jason M. Sheets

EM2 David D. Decker

Charles Henry Kruse

LCDR Robert J. Simonic

LTJG Brendan J. Duffy

TN Benjamin R. Lauretta

OSC Patrick C. Smith

LT Joseph Durmon

LTJG Meredith Loughran

AW2 David Stetrom

ATC Richard H. Edwards

AW1 Josheph R. Lucas

LCDR Paul A. Stokes

LTJG Steven Engeman

FA Joseph L. Lyrian, Jr.

LT Edward Frances Sullivan

CDR Lauren R. Everett

LTJG Edward L. Maas, Jr.

LCDR Martin J. Sullivan

ETR2 George M. Fasching

PO2 Marble

LT Edward P. Szeyller

AO1 Vincent Filpi

ENS David E. Martin

CDR Albert J. Thompson

Jesse Benton Forney, Jr.

MACM Steven D. Martin

AW1 Steve Voight

LCDR William A. Hall

LTJG Thomas L. Masten

ADC John E. Webb

DC3 Robert A. Hastings

FN Gary W. Menard

LT Robert Wood

LT James G. Hicks

AMSAN Brian S. Mullen

LTJG Charles E. Woodward

EM3 Michael Bowden

Eric Sauerborn

MA2 Robert F. Miner III

LCDR Robert F. Hansen

ATN3 James H. Dorrell

William Brian Buchanan

Last Friday a larger than life person passed after a long battle with cancer. His friends left words of condolence on his Facebook wall describing him: inspiring, loyal, gentle giant, kind, funny, wonderful sense of humor, brave. Many people will never forget his laugh. Or the way he could turn any conversation into something more colorful. As for me, I was able to visit him for the first time in a long time a few months ago. And I am glad I was able to speak to him one last time the Saturday before he passed. He most certainly was loved by many, many people. I hope the funeral home knows how many people are going to show up for him!

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Woods

WILLIAM BRIAN BUCHANAN

Portion of obituary courtesy of McKoon Funeral Home.

William Brian Buchanan “Brian”, 41, of Newnan, Ga., passed away on September 13, 2013 Brian was born in Austell, Ga. on October 20, 1971. He graduated from Mililani High School in Hawaii, attended Austin Peay State University in Tennessee and continued on to receive a Computer Tech degree from West Georgia Technical College in Carrollton, Ga.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.mckoon.com

Memorial services will be held Saturday, September 21 at 2:00 pm in the chapel of McKoon Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to St. Jude Cancer Research Center: http://www.stjude.org/waystohelp. McKoon Funeral Home 38 Jackson St. Newnan, GA 30263 770-253-4580.

Edward Wesley Block

Arizona Pioneer and Cemetery Research Project (www.apcrp.org) member.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF EDWARD WESLEY BLOCK

DECEMBER 8, 1938 TO SEPTEMBER 1,2013

Ed Block was born December 8, 1938, in St. Helens, Oregon, the oldest son of John and Elsie (Bandeen) Block. When Ed was a small boy, the family moved to Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Washington High School in 1955 and enlisted in the Army, He served two years active duty in Germany.
He enrolled in Portland State University and graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 1963. Later he was in the M.B.A. program. Ed married Kathy (Katherine Buehler) on June 5, 1964. Most of his career he was with Multnomah County Juvenile Court in Portland.

Throughout most of their 48 years together, Ed and Kathy traveled extensively to Hawaii, Europe, Mexico, and Australia, as well as most of the U.S. Upon the retirement of both (Kathy taught special education), they moved to Lake Havasu City full-time in 2002. In the S.W. they enjoyed adventures with their 4×4 Toyota and a small beat-up trailer to the back county to prospect for gold, bow hunt for javelina, hike, go spelunking, study astronomy, explore ghost towns and pioneer cemeteries, and do photography. Ed was a booster in the Arizona Pioneer and Cemetery Research Project and participated in research and preservation of pioneer cemeteries in Arizona.

Ed died at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada around 12:30 PM on Sept. 1, 2013, from complications of a stroke. He will be dearly missed by his wife Kathy, his brother Bill Block of Prescott Valley, Kathy’s brother and sister-in-law John and Karyn Buehler of Portland, Oregon, and many friends and neighbors. He was always ready to lend a helping hand. His organs were donated to the Nevada Organ Donor program and a surgical team was on hand to share with others, so part of his spirit will live on in others.

Ed was pre-deceased by his brother Lyle B. Block, and his parents.
Ed wished to be cremated and his ashes placed at a favorite prospecting spot.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his memory to APCRP.
Neal Du Shane
1224 Canvasback Court
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525

Memorial celebration of life is pending, info will be available from:
Lietz-Franze Funeral Home
21 Riviera Blvd.
Lake Havasu City, AZ
928-855-4949

Murdered Flowers

I finally found the name of the man that Peter McQueen murdered in Choctaw County, Mississippi! Well, the last name of the man, anyway.

In the April 10, 1899 issue of the Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) was an article that had been reproduced from an issue of the Walthall Warden (Walthall, MS). The article, from what I understand, was originally written by S. Newton Berryhill, the man that penned “Backwoods Poems”. After listing several murders in early Choctaw County, Berryhill wrote:

I do not include the three Grays who killed Judge Edwards and Luther Edwards, during the war, and were killed in jail by citizens; nor old man McQueen, who killed Flowers in 1865, and, having fled, was pursued by a company of the U.L.A., who got ahead of him this side of Houston, and shot him from the roadside. In these cases the killing of the man-slayers was the direct and immediate consequence of their crimes – the penalty which the law itself would or should have inflicted.

I am hoping that I can figure out who the man was he shot. Perhaps a descendent of the Flowers family knows the story!

Other instances mentioned:

First – Clerk, a lawyer, who once lived at Greensboro removed to Carrollton, where he killed a man whose name I do not recollect. He was himself killed the same year by J. Lancaster, at one time editor of the state Advocate, the first newspaper ever published in Choctaw county.

Second – Gibson Clark, who lived for many years near the site of Walthall, killed a lawyer named Lindsey at Greensboro. Several years afterward Clark shot himself through the brain by his own rifle, pulling the trigger by means of a string tied to his toe.

Third – James C. Powers, who had killed a man in Pickens county, Ala., was killed at Greensboro by Dr. T.J. New.

Fourth – Thornton, who had served a term in the penitentiary for manslaughter, was killed at ‘Bucksnort,’ a suburb of Greensboro, by the same Dr. New.

Fifth – Seth Platner, known as ‘Young Seth,’ killed Criswell Snow at Greensboro. He afterwards killed a Mexican woman in Texas, and was pursued by a party of Mexicans, who riddled him with bullets.

Sixth – George Davis killed an old man whose horse he had just levied upon. Davis was afterwards killed in Texas.

Seventh – Dr. E.F.H. Johnson, better known as ‘Old Jaybird,’ killed a man at Snowville some thirty-five years ago. He was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. About six years ago he was shot and killed at night in Greensboro by parties unknown.

Eighth – Robert Medley killed a lawyer named Nowlin at Greensboro, and was in jail at the beginning of the war. He volunteered, and was released from jail; rose to the rank of captain in the renowned Fifteenth Mississippi Regiment, and was wounded at Shiloh, a ball piercing his forehead. He became a gambler, and was killed by another gambler in Hinds county.

Ninth – Thomas Johnson killed David McKey at Greensboro a few years after the war. Johnson was killed by Thomas Holland at Walthall eight or nine years ago.

Tenth – Arnold Brantly, who grew up to manhood in Greensboro, I think, killed two men. He was shot dead in Winona fifteen years ago. Will and Henry Ringer, who were born and raised in the western part of Choctaw county, it is believed, killed him. It is also believed that it was they who killed General Wm. Brantly a few weeks afterwards. They fled from the county.

Eleventh – Henry Ringer, the younger of them, was shot and killed at night at his home in Florida a few years ago.

Twelfth – Story killed William Dunn at Greensboro about twelve years ago. A few years afterwards he was killed in Arkansas by Jones, another Choctaw boy.

Thirteen – Alonzo Nolen, who was born and raised in Greensboro, was killed by Jones about the same time.

Fourteen – Jones, the slayer of the two men, was shot and killed in Sunflower county a few years ago by a person unknown.

More on Thomas Sharp Spencer

Back in March I wrote a post about Thomas “Bigfoot” Sharp Spencer, the man who was supposedly friends with Timothy Demonbreun and for whom my 3rd great-grandfather was named. Today, while I was doing research for my American Indian History class, I happened to see his name pop up in a newspaper article that was published on May 21, 1794 in the Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Massachusetts.

The same day (referring to April 1, 1794), a party of Indians, consisting of from 40 to 50, ambuscaded the road near the Crab Orchard, leading from Knoxville to Nashville, and fired upon a company of travellers, consisting of five persons, killed Thomas Sharp Spencer, wounded James Walker, killed two horses and wounded a third – Spencer had with him about one thousand dollars in gold, and many valuable articles which fell into their hands – These travellers left the blockhouse, at South-West Point, in the morning; and the survivors returned there the same night.

Most of what I had read about him prior to seeing this article had his death in 1793, so now there is an exact date!

Anyway, I then decided to just search for him, just to see if any other articles were written. On October 18, 1942 in the Greensboro Daily News, Greensboro, North Carolina there was an article about a book that was written about him.

Long Hunter Dug Frontier Trails

Long Hunter by Edd Winfield Parks. Farrar and Rinehart, New York. 270pp. $2.

The author, who is on leave from the English department of the University of Georgia, says that this story of Thomas Sharp Spencer, famed hunter of the Daniel Boone era, is an expansion of a legend, but that does not detract from the interesting story he has written. Spencer loved and lived in the deep forests and fought the Indians and the wild beasts of the forests until his death. The Indians knew him as “Big Foot,” apparently a deserved title, and even though he was captured by them, the Indians respected him.

The adventures of this hunter, written in such detail that the smell of the forests and the campfire hang over it like mist, will delight people who love the outdoors, the stories of a frontier fighter who learned to laugh at danger and to love it. Equally as adept at overcoming the dangers of the forests was Midnight, Spencer’s dog. Together they made paths through the wilderness. – A.

As soon as I saw this article, I looked the book up and purchased it from Abe Books (Amazon has copies, too!). I can’t wait to read it!

Timothy Demonbreun and Thomas Sharp Spencer: Friends or Foes?

When I was little my mother told me about my ancestor who lived in a cave and his best friend who lived in a tree. Somehow over time, or perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention (most likely), I thought that she said my ancestor lived in a tree. In my childish imagination I conjured up something like Swiss Family Robinson and thought how fantastic it would be to live in a treehouse. Later, I realized that the reason the story was told to me is because supposedly (family lore) my 3rd great-grandfather John Spencer DeMumbrie was named after this treehouse man. Now, I can’t disprove this story. But I can tell you the story of Thomas Sharp Spencer.

Most everything I can find on Thomas Sharp Spencer comes from the 1908 book Early History of Middle Tennessee by Edward Albright (another public domain book!). Here’s his story:

Described as a long-hunter by the Mansker Chronicles, Thomas Sharp “Bigfoot” Spencer was born about 1758 in Virginia. He traveled from his home in Virginia to Bledsoe’s Lick, now Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee, about 7 miles northeast of Gallatin, Tennessee and about 36 miles northeast of Nashville, in the Spring of 1776.

Now, Albright says that Thomas and a friend of his planted in the summer and reaped corn in the Autumn of 1776, thus being the “first crop of grain in Middle Tennessee”. I would like to point out that the Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee and Shawnee had lived in the area for YEARS. So it most definitely wasn’t the first grain crop. In addition, other settlers had crops, so it is doubtful that it was even the first grain by a settler. Perhaps the first on record?

So, the tree. Legend has it (along with a pretty nifty drawing) that Thomas lived for at least three years in a hollowed out Sycamore tree, dubbed “Spencer’s Tree” or “Spencer’s House” by the other people in the area.

Thomas Sharp Spencer and his hollow tree (source Early History of Middle Tennessee by Edward Albright)

He eventually built himself a house on a large parcel of land, which was named “Spencer’s Choice” due to him being forced in 1781 by North Carolina to choose a parcel out of four (North Carolina having owned that part of Tennessee at the time).

Spencer’s Choice (source Early History of Middle Tennessee by Edward Albright)

In the Fall of 1793 Thomas was returning to Spencer’s Choice after making a trip to Virginia when he was attacked and killed by a band of natives that were lying in wait.

He never married and never had children (that anyone is aware of, at least).

Something I found amusing when I was searching around came from the 1909 book Historic Sumner County, Tennessee by Jay Guy Cisco: “He was a nephew of that Judge Samuel Spencer, who issued the warrant for the arrest of John Sevier for high treason in 1788, and who was killed by a turkey gobbler.” I still want to know how one gets killed by a turkey gobbler.

So, you may be wondering how he got the name Bigfoot. Well, I am going to tell you that story, along with some other fantastic stories I have found on another blog that make this man a legend, much like Paul Bunyan and John Henry.

From Albrights book: “He was sick and lying on a blanket by a fire near where two of the settlers were building a cabin. For a long time he watched them both struggle under the weight of a log trying in vain to put the end of it in place. Finally he arose from his blanket, walked to the cabin, took hold of the log and brushing the men aside threw it into position with apparent ease. Spencer had a large foot, huge even in proportion to his immense body. During his first winter at Bledsoe’s Lick, Timothy Demonbreun…was conducting a trading station near Nashville , and had associated with him a party of hunters from Indiana and Illinois. One morning just at daybreak Spencer, who was himself a mighty hunter, and who happened to be in that neighborhood, chased a herd of buffalo close by the door of a hut in which one of these Frenchmen was sleeping. It had been raining and the ground was very soft. The sleeping hunter, aroused by the noise of the chase, came out and seeing Spencer’s footprint in the mud near the door, became frightened, swam the Cumberland River, and ran north through the wilderness until he reached the French settlement at Vincennes. There he related his experience and declared he would never return to a country that was inhabited by such giants.”

Thoughts from Hunter on Livejournal wrote in 2008 several interesting stories about Thomas. He writes that Thomas was an enormous man, weighing nearly 400 pounds. In addition to the same story transcribed above by Edward Albright concerning Timothy Demonbreun, hunter671 of Thoughts from Hunter writes: “At a store at French Lick (now Nashville) Spencer had picked up something from the shelf and the storekeeper, a man named Demonbreun, thought Spencer meant to steal it so he struck Bigfoot in the face. Spencer promptly picked the storekeeper up, pulled him across the counter and proceeded to grease him head to foot in buffalo tallow.” I am still looking for the source of this story. There has to be more to it!

As I said before, I can’t prove or disprove the family story that Spencer DeMumbrie was named after this man or not, but as far as our family is concerned he was Timothy Demonbreun’s best friend.

Comfort’s Wheel Chair Club, Mildred A Carden, Vence Leroy Holt, and Helen M. Wysong

Usually I have a little advertisement on Sundays that I post, and this is still an advertisement of sorts, but it’s a little different.

Comfort Magazine was published by WH Gannett from 1888 until 1942 in Augusta, Maine. According to a few websites, the magazine started as a way to sell his patented nerve tonic called Oxien. However, the magazine became hugely popular because he had offers for goods and services at great prices in exchange for the readers, who were mainly rural women, signing up more subscriptions…things like teapots and rings were pretty much the norm.

I was flipping through the February 1931 issue of Comfort Magazine looking for a great advert to share today, but I found something more interesting than a regular old advertisement for Black Leaf 40 (nicotine insecticide that was banned some time in the 1990s). Comfort Magazine had a wheelchair club. In the words of the publisher:

For the information of our many new subscribers, let me explain that for each $75.00 worth of subscriptions to COMFORT, at 25 cents a year, two years for 50¢ or 4 years for $1.00, sent in either singly or in clubs by persons who direct that they are to be credited to COMFORT’S WHEEL CHAIR CLUB instead of claiming the premium to which they would be entitled, I give a FIRST-CLASS INVALID WHEEL CHAIR to some needy crippled shut-in and pay for the freight, too. It is a large and expensive premium for me to give for that number of subscriptions, but I am always glad to do my part a little faster each month than you do yours.

Sincerely yours,

W.H. GANNETT

Publisher of COMFORT

For the February 1931 issue is the following:

Two Wheel Chairs in December

1011 Is COMFORT’S Total To Date

Two children are the lucky ones this month and the wheel chairs will be sent to them as soon as it is possible to do so. They are: Mildred Carden, 11 years, Henrysville, Route 1, Tenn., and Vence Leroy Holt, 13 years, Denning, Ark.

These children will, I feel sure, get a lot of pleasure out of their chairs and will be able to get a little of the sunshine of life. Mildred Carden has been crippled nearly all of her life. She had some kind of paralysis somewhat like infantile paralysis. Most of the trouble seems to be in her hips. She has pretty good use of her hands, legs and feet.

Vence Leroy Holt has been crippled all of his life and was in the hospital for four month. He has the use of his legs above the knees.

OF COURSE I looked them up.

Mildred A Carden was born October 6, 1919 in Lawrence County, Tennessee to parents Elzie B Carden and Stella Mae Laney. She never married. She died on October 10 1971. She is buried in a triple plot between her parents in Garden of Memories Memorial Park, Salinas, Monterey County, California.

Vence Leroy Holt is a little harder to track. His father was either John or James J Holt and his mother’s first name was Buena. His siblings were Esther Holt, Carl Holt, Ida Holt, Irene Holt, Estelle (Gussie?) Holt and John Holt.

Now, besides the little blurb about Mildred and Vence Leroy, was a photo that was sent in: Dear Mr. Gannett:

I am sending you a picture of Helen to publish in the COMFORT Magazine, and I hope to see it soon. Thanking you again for the chair, as it is such a great help in caring for Helen.

Yours truly,

Mrs. Goldie Tobin

Helen Marguerite Wysong was born August 12, 1912 (though I am also seeing 1913) in Montgomery County, Ohio to parents Vernon Roscoe Wysong and Goldie E Christman/Chrissman. Her father died in 1920 and her mother remarried to John Tobin. Helen married Robert Charles Orndorff sometime prior to 1947, when they appeared in the October 16, 1947 issue of the Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana-found on Ancestry).

Crippled Parents have Healthy Child

Robert Vern Orndorff, 7 weeks old, will be the only one in the family who will not need (a) wheelchair when he is old enough to walk. His father, Robert Orndorff, suffers form (sic) sleeping sickness, while his mother is paralyzed from the waist down by (a) childhood injury. The Orndorffs support themselves by making jewelry in their Dayton, Ohio home.

Helen passed away on July 24, 1976 in Dayton, Ohio. She, sadly, outlived her husband who passed in 1951 and her son who passed in 1970.

I am now wondering how many more Comfort Magazine issue I own.

The Georgia Anna Project

I love old photographs of my family. Really, I love old photographs of any kind. This is why I collect them, buy them up and marvel at them. However, I know that those photographs of people I don’t know, that I am not related to, aren’t really my photographs to own, even if I did purchase them.

I had mentioned the joy of finding the family that belongs to photographs I purchased of the Lebo/Galloway/Mowerr family in an earlier post (which you can read about by clicking here). I had mentioned that I found the family after starting an Ancestry tree based on the family and starting a new blog in hope that maybe someone would stumble upon it searching for their ancestor’s names. Well, the blog has changed a bit.

The Georgia Anna Project (at www.thegeorgiaannaproject.com) is not only the Lebo/Galloway/Mowerr family photos but now includes photos from all over that I have purchased that I am trying to find their homes. Named for Georgia Anna Mowerr, one of the driving forces in helping to find the family that her photos belonged to, The Georgia Anna Project was created in order to reunite lost photographs of ancestors with their descendants.

A link for the website can be found on the navigation bar at the top of this blog, on the right-hand sidebar, or by clicking the picture below.

Category: Others’ Families