Proctor Family – Digging Up Your Family

A Word About Family Lore (with examples)

For the past several days I have been going through a lot of stuff trying to figure out what to write next about Timothy Demonbreun. However, putting all of the information together is kind of difficult. There is the problem of trying to separate fact from fiction, along with having to accept some things as definite fact, even though I cannot see the documentation (I am assuming that others who have written about him have seen it, so that’s where trust comes in on matters such as that). There are so many fantastic stories about Timothy’s life, and I will share them all…along with letting my readers know which stories I do not have sources for and what stories have been passed down through the Demonbreun descendants for about two centuries now (my hope, as always, is that someone will present a source, a document, anything!). I do, however, want to point out that most stories started somehow. Here are a few family stories I have heard about my ancestors, either stories passed down or stories I have read online…along with the facts:

1. Lore: Spencer DeMumbrie was from France. Fact: Spencer DeMumbrie was born in Tennessee. This one is kind of amusing because I can only speculate as to where this story came from. On the death certificate for Minnie DeMumbrie, Spencer’s daughter, it has him as having been born in France. Since Minnie’s son was the informant I can only assume that Minnie had told people her father was French, rather than descended from French-Canadians. My Granddaddy even referred to her as his “French grandmother” (even though, in reality, he could have called both grandmothers French…his other grandmother Annie Bondurant was descended from the French Huguenot Jean Pierre Bondurant).

2. Lore: James Anderson Proctor’s first wife Paralee was a gypsy. Fact: James Anderson Proctor, the husband of my 3rd great-grandmother Amanda Summers, was married first to a woman named Paralee. However, when I found the marriage record I also found that Paralee’s full maiden name was Delilah Paralee Duffel. This means that Paralee was Amanda’s aunt through her mother Emily Jane Duffel. And now, if anyone ever decides to start searching for Paralee again (I think everyone kind of gave up trying to find her when she “disappeared” after the 1850 census), they will now know what happened to her. And it also answers everyone’s question as to where JA’s wife came from (because no one could figure out her maiden name, I guess).

3. Lore: The Para family had their surname changed to Para when they arrived at Ellis Island from Italy. Fact: That never happened. What is known is that if their name was changed once they arrived in America, they would have done it themselves, and it would have been well after they arrived. And there is still no proof that it was ever anything different. Prior to boarding the ship in Italy their information and documentation would have been checked by Italian officials. Once they arrived they would have had to present the documentation to officials that were either from Italy themselves, or fluent in Italian. The records and names would have to match up, otherwise they wouldn’t be permitted to enter the country. When filing for citizenship they would have had the option to change their last name if they so chose. So far, I know they wouldn’t have come through Ellis Island, anyway. The patriarch of the family Giacomo Para (Anglicized to Jacob Para) arrived in America about 1876 or 1877, sixteen or seventeen years prior to the opening of Ellis Island. Before that he would have arrived through Castle Gardens in New York, if that’s even where he entered the country. There is no record of him at Castle Gardens, either. So there is no telling what location he came through. I haven’t found his wife and children yet, either. So back to the name: If the surname was changed then I don’t have a clue what it was originally. And apparently no one else does, either. While I did find record of a Giacomo Para entering through California, he was much too young, he immigrated much too late and he stayed in California.

4. Lore: Elizabeth Bennett was 115/116 years of age when she died. Fact: Um, no one really knows the truth here. She is another mystery that everyone hopes to someday unravel. She will be getting her own post, but you will meet her soon anyway, as she is a key player in the story of Timothy Demonbreun. Anyway, if you are to believe her headstone, erected by her son Jean Baptiste, she was born July 24, 1740 and died February 7, 1856. In 1850 she claimed her age as 105, putting her birth year about 1745. However, she gave birth to her last child in 1795, making her age at this birth either 50 or 55. Sigh. I’m not saying it’s impossible. Just improbable

5. Lore: There really is no lore for this particular example, about Elizabeth Freeland. Just a jumble of information about her. Fact: In 1850, the first time Elizabeth shows up on a census record, Elizabeth is shown as being 37 years of age, born about 1813 in Alabama. In 1860, however, she is 56 years of age, having been born in 1804 in Louisiana. I do know that she married Peter McQueen in 1820 in Louisiana, so I greatly doubt she was born in 1813. I mean, her first child Louisa was born in 1821, which would have meant that Elizabeth was a mere 8-years-old. Unfortunately, her marriage records to Peter McQueen and Claiborn Perry don’t mention her age, or her place of birth, for that matter. I know her brother was residing in Alabama when he died, but he also had land in Mississippi (which is where she was living when she divorced Peter and married Claiborn).

These are just a few examples of family stories and misinformation. I just felt it was important to get this out there prior to continuing Timothy Demonbreun’s story. Because, as you’ll see, his life was pretty wacky.

More on Delilah Paralee Duffel and Basil Pinkney Summers

According to the History of Houston County, Tennessee (Turner Publishing Company, 1995) Allen Duffel and Susan McCarroll had a daughter named Paralee who was born “ca. 1837”. I was able to find that Paralee Duffel is Delilah Paralee Duffel who married James Anderson Proctor in Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee on September 23, 1869. Delilah Paralee Duffel is the sister of my 4th great-grandmother Emily Jane Duffel. Different census records put her birth year as 1837, 1840 and 1845. According to the 1880 US Mortality Schedule Paralee died February of 1880 in Houston County, Tennessee of consumption. Her husband then married her niece, my 3rd great-grandmother Amanda M Summers.

The other day my mom was skimming the Nashville Christian Advocate (1836-?) for death records and found an interesting one that had been printed in the October 9, 1880 edition:

“DELIA P. PROCTOR born May 10, 1837; died Mar. 6, 1880; married James Proctor (1 child, Mattie).”

I searched the census records for a James Proctor married to a Delia and came up with nothing. And the only James Proctor that I could find in 1880 with a daughter named Mattie was married to a woman named Fannie, and according marriage records they married in 1874 in Robertson County, Tennessee. SO…this means that Delia P Proctor is actually Delilah Paralee Proctor. This also means that she was actually born in 1837. This also means that her death was not in February of 1880, but rather in March of 1880. AND it also means that James and Paralee did have a child together prior to her death.

I still have not found James Anderson Proctor on an 1880 census record, so I can’t account for where he and Mattie might be (though I assume they must still be in Houston County, Tennessee or the surrounding area…if Paralee died in March of 1880 and James married Amanda in December of 1880, then it is assumed that he didn’t go far). I need to find out when Mattie was born. It would be extremely helpful in tracking her!

Something else of interest that was found in the April 19, 1879 edition of the Nashville Christian Advocate had to do with Amanda M Summers’ father Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers (or so I assume!):

“B. P. SUMMERS born Houston Co., Tenn., Jan. 20, 1821; died there, Oct. 10, 1878.”

I know from census records that Basil Pinkney Summers was born in 1821. And according to…well, I don’t know where the information came from, actually…”Pink” supposedly died November 22, 1878. Again, searching through the census records, the only person that I can find that matches the description (initials, date of birth, place of birth) is Basil Pinkney “Pink” Summers.

The big question that the records for Proctor and Summers leads me to ask is: which dates of the death dates are correct? The dates listed in the Nashville Christian Advocate, or what I find on Ancestry?

Delila Paralee Duffel

Ok, so when I first started building my family tree I noticed that Amanda Summers’ husband, James Anderson Proctor, had been married before to a woman named Paralee, but it seemed as though no one knew who Paralee was, last name, parents, etc. I had put it in the back of my mind to search for her at some point because she intrigued me.

The book Houston County, Tennessee Families and Histories (Turner Publishing Company, 1995) lists a Paralee Duffel, born about 1837, as the daughter of Allen Duffel and Susan McCarroll. I don’t know if this escaped others’ attention or if no one bothered to look into it, because I think it gives a pretty good clue. In fact, when I first saw that I remembered that I was going to research the mysterious Paralee, first wife of JA Proctor.

Now, you’re going to have to stick with me when it comes to her birthdate(s), because we are going to be jumping all over the place with it.

In 1850 Paralee is on the census with her mother Susan, brother Ebbert (age 27 years), brother Thaddeus (age 19 years), sister Mary (age 15 years), brother Thomas (age 11 years) and brother Hardena (yes, brother, listed as a male, age 9 years). The family is living in Stewart County, Tennessee. Allen Duffel, Paralee’s father, had passed away previous to this census. Paralee is listed as 13 years of age, estimating her birth year at 1837, as the book had noted.

But we all should know how incorrect census records, and books, can be. Also, to be noted, if you are looking on Ancestry for this record, the transcriber…transcribed…the name as Sarah, though to me it plainly says Paralee. And for the record, a lot of names were misspelled on marriage and death records, along with birth records that were kept by doctors and churches.

I cannot for the life of me find Paralee in the 1860 census. I have looked and looked, but I just can’t find her. No, let me rephrase: I have not yet found her in the 1860 census.

Now, to share what I found and have been waiting on for what feels like forever to arrive in the mail: a marriage certificate! A marriage certificate for James A(Anderson) Proctor and Delila Paralee Duffle (Duffel). No joke. I check census records to track James Anderson Proctor and sure enough he was in Montgomery County, Tennessee. So the marriage record. On September 23, 1869 James A Proctor and Delila Paralee Duffle (as the spellings are recorded) were married in Montgomery County, Tennessee. I was told by the Montgomery County Archives that the marriage more than likely took place in Clarksville since the minister was Samuel Ringgold, who was, at the time, the Rector at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Clarksville (side note: the same church where my mother was baptized).

So, in 1870 James and Paralee are living in District 7, Benton County, Tennessee. James is listed as 22 years old and working on a farm. Paralee is listed as 25 years old and keeping house. So now her estimated year of birth is 1845.

Paralee doesn’t show up on any other census records. She is, however, on the 1880 US Mortality Schedule. What this tells us is: at the time of death she was 40 years old, estimating her birth year as 1840; she was a housekeeper (whether that means “house wife” or an actual housekeeper, I don’t know…probably the former); her date of death was February 1880; she died of consumption; she died in Houston County, Tennessee (which it should be known that Houston County was formed in 1871 from-depending on the sources-the counties of Stewart, Dickson, Montgomery, Humphreys and Benton…I don’t know which of these are the exact counties, but hopefully someone will enlighten me).

James Anderson Proctor married Amanda Summers on December 11, 1880.

So, I am pretty convinced that Delila Paralee Duffle and James A Proctor are my Paralee Duffel and James Anderson Proctor. Hopefully if I am wrong then someone let me know with proof. This also means that, as some will dispute purely for moral reasons, James Anderson Proctor was Amanda’s uncle, but only through marriage.

I am waiting to find out if they married at Trinity Episcopal Church in Clarksville, Tennessee. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they find a record that may contain more information!

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!

Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers

I keep running across ancestors that make me scratch my head, and then make me want to pull my hair out. This is one of those ancestors (insert Law & Order “bomp bomp” here).

Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers supposedly was born on March 15, 1870 in Tennessee. I say supposedly, because I cannot find her on any census from 1870 and by the time most were enumerated that year she would have been several months old, thus appearing somewhere. And I get that date off of her death certificate and the 1900 census. Where was she? If someone can find her in 1870 I will be forever grateful.

So, by all accounts she was born to mother Amanda. In 1870 Amanda is found in Danville, Stewart County, Tennessee living with her parents, Pink (Basil Pinkney Summers) and Emily (Duffel) Summers, and her siblings, Greenberry, Clementine, Anderson and Rufus. The census was enumerated on August 12, 1870. So where is Lizzie? The census also states that Amanda is Single. Not Widowed. Not Married. Not Divorced. Single. So from this we can gather that Lizzie was illegitimate. Well, if she actually existed at that point, I mean.

In 1880 Lizzie finally shows up on the census enumerated in June 1880, either on the 15^th or the 5^th, it’s kind of hard to read. By now Houston County, Tennessee (ca. 1871) had been formed, part of it from Stewart County, and that is where they are shown living. Amanda is now living with her mother (Widowed), her brother Greenberry (Single) and a 19 year old boarder named “Ritchard”. Also living in the household are Amanda’s THREE children: Lizzie (age 10 years), Leona (age 6 years) and “Infant” (Leon Edward, age 1 month). Amanda is still Single. Not Widowed. Not Married. Not Divorced. Single. Which means that all three of her children were illegitimate.

So who was Lizzie’s father? Did all three of Amanda’s children at this point have the same father?

After 1880 we don’t see Amanda on the census records. She apparently died in 1889, after having married James Anderson Proctor late in the year of 1880 after his first wife, Paralee, died of consumption in February the same year. Lizzie married William Glenn Cathey August 26, 1889. Depending on exactly when Amanda died (which we don’t know…the Mortality Schedules were also destroyed for the years following 1885 along with the 1890 census…sigh), I think that the marriage may have been set up. On the same day, by the same person, Leona also married. Lizzie would have been 19 years old and Leona would have been 16 years old. Amanda’s brother Greenberry had signed and witnessed both bonds for the marriages. James Anderson Proctor remarried for a third time to Sarah Hamm (Sallie J Hams on Family Search) on December 26, 1889 in Montgomery County, Tennessee. I don’t know where Amanda’s other illegitimate child, Leon, is at the time but I am assuming he stayed with Greenberry. Her other children that she gave birth to after marrying James Anderson Proctor continued to live with him, moving to Missouri with him later.

In 1900 Lizzie and William Glenn Cathey are in Indian Bayou, Lonoke, Arkansas. Will’s occupation is shown as “tipping blocks”, which if anyone knows what that is, please enlighten me. Lizzie is at home with their four children: Riley (age 10 years), Archie (age 6 years), George (age 4 years) and Katie (age 2 years). Katie is their only child born in Arkansas.

In 1910 Lizzie shows up on the census as Elizabeth Cathey, widowed, living in Humphreys County, Tennessee. Apparently William Glenn Cathey died in 1906 (and is buried in Nolan Cemetery in Humphreys County, Tennessee near Hurricane Mills), though I have yet to find proof of his actual death and I have not seen his headstone as of yet. The children living with Lizzie are: Alvy (Acra Archie, age 16 years), Arlee (George, age 13 years), Katie (age 12 years), Lorine (Ludie Mae, age 7 years), William (Willie Richard, age 4 years) and Maggie (age 2 ½ years). All of the children also carry the Cathey surname. I had seen one source that pinpointed Lizzie and William “Bill” Green Smith’s wedding to a specific date in 1909, but we can see that as of April 27, 1910 Lizzie was not shown as having remarried, nor had she changed her last name to Smith. There were two Smith families living on either side of her, but neither of them had him living in their household.

I still haven’t seen exactly when Lizzie married William “Bill” Green Smith, but I am hoping to find it, or have it shown to me, soon.

By 1920 they had married. Lizzie and Bill are living in Humphreys County, Tennessee with their children: Maggie Smith (age 9 years), Luda Pearl Smith (age 7 years), Walter James Smith (age 4 years), Arlee Cathey (age 24 years) and Willie Cathey (age 14 years). So, I guess I can ask the obvious here: Maggie Cathey in 1910, Maggie Smith in 1920? Were they the same person? If so then she lost 3 ½ years somewhere along the way. And if they are the same person then she was illegitimate since Lizzie and Bill were not yet married by her birth. Two other scenarios for her birth: Maggie Cathey was a different Maggie and William Glenn Cathey is her father, thus making his death date NOT 1906 or Maggie Cathey’s father is a “mystery man” (much like Lizzie’s father). If Maggie Cathey and Maggie Smith are not the same person, then what happened to Maggie Cathey? On a separate note, Ludie Mae, one of Lizzie’s daughters with William Glenn Cathey, is living next door to the Smith family with her husband, Cam Daniel.

In 1930 Lizzie is living in Humphreys County, Tennessee with Bill. Their son, Walter James (age 14 years), is also living with them. The other two people listed as living in the household are Ludie Mae’s son Raymond (age 3 years, ALSO listed as living in Ludie’s household!) and Lizzie’s uncle, Greenberry Summers (age 84 years, though his death certificate for the same year says 86 years).

The census records end there (for now…they are released every 72 years, so next year in 2012 the 1940 census will be released…yay!).

Bill Smith died October 5, 1946 of lobar pneumonia at Western State Lunatic Asylum (as it was known then) where he had been for 26 days (he only had pneumonia for 3 days before his death).

At some point, from what my mother and I have been told, Lizzie lived with her daughter Ludie Mae. I am not sure if that is where she was living when she died or not. From her death record I know she was living in Waverly, Humphreys County, Tennessee.

Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers died in at Weakley County Hospital in Martin, Weakley County, Tennessee on October 20, 1952. The cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension. She is buried in Crockett Cemetery, Hurricane Mills, Humphreys County, Tennessee along side her husband, William “Bill” Green Smith.

Going back to the matter of Lizzie’s father: the Proctor family, for some reason, wants to claim Lizzie, Leona and Leon as James Anderson Proctor’s children. I’m not sure why they want that. I figure it would be more savory to say that JA Proctor was nice enough to take into his home this woman with three illegitimate children rather than say that he was such a bastard that he cheated on his first wife and fathered not one, not two, but THREE children with some other woman. Lizzie’s death certificate says that James Franklin Summers is her father. James Franklin Summers, at least the one I know about that is connected to the Summers family, is Amanda’s uncle, her father’s brother, who was, at the time of Lizzie’s birth, married to Tennessee Porter Outlaw. There were plenty of other James Summers that lived in Tennessee, in or near Stewart County, in 1870, also. When I inquired at the Tennessee Archives about Lizzie’s parents’ names having been written in on the death certificate Chuck Sherrill sent me an email saying

“Regarding the handwritten addition of the names of Mrs. Smith's parents, it appears to me that someone reviewed this certificate after it was typed and noted that there was missing information. This reviewer marked the omissions with a star. Someone then went back and obtained the needed information and wrote it in by hand. Whether that additional data came from the original informant (Walter Smith), or from some other source, is not clear.

I looked through about 50 certificates surrounding this one and found only one other with a red star on it. That person did not die at the hospital. I had thought the review might have been done by hospital staff, but apparently it was done at the Health Department.”

So either way, we still have no clue who Lizzie’s father was. And I can’t honestly say that Amanda Summers was Lizzie’s mother, either. Why, you ask? Because so far my autosomal DNA that I submitted has not matched anyone that is related to the Proctor family. If any of the descendants of James Anderson Proctor (and his Proctor Family) and Amanda Summers (and her Summers family) or their children submitted DNA, I would match up to them somehow. So far, nada.

We also understand that Lizzie may have been Native American. Neither Lizzie or her daughter Katie wanted anyone to know that they were “Indian”, going as far as to keep themselves covered from the sun in order to not tan. Another time my grandmother, when she was young, repeated a derogatory remark she had heard from her father about Native Americans to Lizzie. Lizzie turned around and backhanded my grandmother off the porch.

Let’s recap:

Who was Lizzie’s biological father?

Who is this mysterious Maggie Cathey?

When did William Glenn Cathey die?

When did Lizzie marry William “Bill” Green Smith?

Is there anyone out there that can answer the mysteries of Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers?

Amanda M Summers

Amanda M Summers continues to be somewhat of a mystery in my family. I am hoping that by posting what I know about her someone will turn up that may have more information for me.

The information I have on her outright is that she was born in Tennessee in 1850 to Basil Pinkney Summers and Emily Jane Duffel. She first shows up in the 1860 census as Amanda Sommers, age 9, living with her parents “Pinkney” and “Emaly” (seriously, way to go with correct spelling) residence in Stewart County, Tennessee. This would mean she had been born in 1851, however.

The next census, 1870, shows her as Amanda Summers, age 18, living with her parents “Pink” and “Emaly”, residence in Stewart County, Tennessee.

The last census she is on is 1880, as “Amanday” Summers, age 28 (again, setting her year of birth at 1852) living with her mother “Emley”, residence in Houston County, Tennessee. At this time she also had three children, Elizabeth (Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers, 1870-1852), age 10; Leona (Leona A “Lonie” Summers 1873-1956), age 6; and Infant (Leon Edward “Ed” Summers 1880-1944), age 1 month. This census also lists her marital status as Single.

After the 1880 census was performed Amanda married James Anderson Proctor in Houston County, Tennessee on December 11, 1880.

There are no other records that I can find regarding Amanda. She apparently died in 1889. Before her death she had three children with JA Proctor: Richard Pinkney Proctor 1882-1952, Earl Parker Proctor 1884-1953 and Zana Frances Proctor 1888-1958.

James Anderson Proctor married for the third time to Sarah J Hamm sometime in 1889 or 1890. He had four more children with her.

I saw on one personal family tree on Ancestry that Amanda died in 1917, but the general consensus is that she died in 1889.

The general consensus, also, is that James Anderson Proctor is the father of her first three children, Lizzie, Lonie and Ed. However, I recently came across Lizzie’s death certificate and it says that James Franklin Summers was her father. James Franklin Summers was Basil Pinkney Summers’ brother.

If this is the case then I have some questions: is Amanda a blood descendent of Basil Pinkney Summers or was she perhaps adopted? Was she really having relations with her uncle? If James Franklin Summers is the father of her oldest child does this mean that he is also the father of her other two illegitimate children? Was there maybe another James Franklin Summers that lived in Stewart County (her uncle lived in Humphreys County, Tennessee at the time).

I’m hoping someone will have some other proof of who the father of Amanda’s first three children are. I’m also hoping someone can help me with how, and exactly when and where, Amanda died. And what was her middle name, what did the “M” stand for? Any other information/stories about her is more than welcome! And if anyone has any pictures that would be fantastic, too!

Category: Proctor Family