Digging Up Your Family

That Day Spencer DeMumbrie Was Called Steve

I am used to seeing the surnames Demonbreun and DeMumbrie spelled every which way one can think about spelling them (and a few that I haven’t a clue where they came up with the spelling). Amusingly, however, the Memphis Daily Appeal was fairly close with their spelling of DeMumbrie, but not very close at all to spelling the name Spencer correctly.

Memphis Daily Appeal (Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee), July 8, 1872, page 4, column 2:

-On Saturday a fatal row occurred at Demumbrey’s Landing, sixty-five miles down the river. A man named Magee, who had arrived from below, had an altercation with Steve Demumbrey, in the course of which Magee was shot. This was on Saturday.

And in case you were wondering, it happened on Saturday.

Minerva H Worsham Obituary

Back in 2011 I wrote a post about Malcolm McMillan and Minerva Worsham. Just as a refresher, Malcolm and Minerva are my 4th great-grandparents. Their daughter Cornelia Ann McMillan was the second wife of Spencer DeMumbrie, my 3rd great-grandfather. Well, a few days ago I received a comment on a post that led me to Minerva’s obituary! I was pretty excited because there is so little information about the couple.

Thank you so much, Mary M.!

Found in the Memphis Appeal (Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee), March 18, 1888, page 5, column 4

McMILLIN – At residence of J.E. Richards, on Lucy avenue, March 17, 1888, in the seventy-ninth year of her age, MINERVA H. McMILLIN.

Remains will be taken to Commerce, Miss., for interment.

First, I notice the spelling of the name. I had been unsure of the spelling until I found her listed in the city directory several times spelled McMillan. I’m certain that is the correct spelling. Second…and most exciting…is her burial back in Mississippi. Commerce was an area of Tunica County. My guess is that wherever she was buried is probably where Malcolm is buried, and Cornelia…and possibly Spencer! The excitement is nearly unbearable!

Samuel Currey Death

I kept seeing dates given for Samuel Currey’s life on Ancestry but nothing to back them up. So I decided to have a looksee and find something, anything, to support these dates. Here is what I have found:

Birth – I have seen dates ranging from 1700 to 1717. According to the Currey Family website, both he and his wife Jane were born before 1710. That makes sense to me because Samuel and Jane received their letter of dismissal from the Rosemary Street Third Presbyterian Church in Belfast dated June 6, 1729 (though it appears to have been transcribed as 1727 at one point). Either way, the likelihood of Samuel being married at 12 years of age (if you believe the 1717 date of birth) and coming to America is very, very slim. SO, I agree with James Currey, the owner of the Currey Family website, that they were both born before 1710, most likely in Northern Ireland. I also keep seeing that his some people have names for his parents, but again…no sources.

Marriage – This is one of the more amusing things I have seen. James Currey does point out that on several records Jane is listed as just Jane, and sometimes “Elizabeth (Eliza) Jane”. At some point someone decided her name was Eliza Jane Grey. I can’t help but wonder if the surname is just being mixed up with their grandson Robert Brownlee Currey’s wife, Jane Grey Owen. I have seen no source for this name yet. As I understand, with the exception of the letter of dismissal containing permission to join a colonial church, all of the records for the Curreys from Rosemary Street were destroyed by the Germans in 1941 in the Belfast Blitz. Now, the reason I mention that they were given permission to join a colonial church is because a lot of people have this attached to their tree as proof of marriage:

nope

This is where fact checking comes in, people. The dismissal letter, which I stated was signed in 1729 starts “I hereby certify that the bearer hereof, Samuel Currey, and his wife, Jane…” They were already married. And if their son Ezekiel was born ca. 1735 in Pennsylvania…I could go on, but I think the point is made.

Death – I was most interested in finding sources for his death. And I did! Well, what I really wanted was to find his will, and I almost kinda sorta did…in a way. On Family Search in Decedents records 1744-1782 and 1804-1810 B-C, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994 I found a receipt document dated June 21, 1763 that reads:

The Accompt John Currey and Samuel Currey Administrators of all and singular the Goods and Chattels Rights and Credits of Samuel Currey – late of Londonderry Township in the County of Chester, yeoman, deceased…

Other names listed on this receipt:

Robert Allen

John McDonnell

Mary Wiley

William Steel

David Long

Archibald W Michael

Robert Bines

David Hughs

William Johnston

William Miller

Robert Griffin

Thomas Montgomery

James Willson

Samuel McMullan

John Strawbridge

William Alexander

Samuel Young

John Deal

Susanna Barry

Thomas Miner

John Campbell

Archibald Anderson

James Todd

Samuel Smith

Evan Rice

James Satimore

Alex Johnston

Catherine Rice

Henry Viney

Thomas Strawbridge

Ezekiel Corry (Samuel’s Son)

John Todd

Samuel Houlton

Now, the reason I have pointed out Ezekiel in red is because that name Corry is pretty important. This might be why there is such a problem finding much information about the family. It is generally thought that the surname may have been variations of Currey/Curry/Currie. However, it was pointed out to me by a woman named Imogene that most of the information she has found for the family contains the surname Correy, or variations. Even though the receipt starts out as Currey, John and Samuel (administrators, and Samuel’s other two sons) signed their surname as Corry. And, according to the date the will was originally filed (April 21, 1758):

Correy, Samuel April 21 “ (1758) John and Samuel Correy

So, to an certain extent I have a death date for him. And if I had to take a guess I would assume that he, and his wife Jane, are quite possibly buried in the cemetery or around the Fagg’s Manor Presbyterian Church (founded as the New Londonderry Congregation of Fagg’s Manor in 1739, source).

What I am really hoping for is to come across his actual will. It has a number, along with the book it is actually in, but either that page has gone missing or my eyes haven’t caught it yet.

Leon Edward Summers WWII Draft Registration Card

Every now and then I look up the death record for Leon Edward Summers, Sr. “Ed” was the third illegitimate child Amanda Summers had, my 2nd great-grandmother, Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers being first and Leona “Lonie” Summers being second. Anyway, my hope is that I will be able to view the actual death certificate, just to see if it gives any inkling of a name for his father. I suspect, however, that James Anderson Proctor actually was Ed’s father, though I still do not believe JA was father to Lizzie or Lonie.

So, I am still unable to view the actual record. And I have a sneaking suspicion that it doesn’t list his parents names at all, including Amanda. What I did find, though, was a World War II draft registration card. Ed was 11 days shy of his 62nd birthday.

(all three images came from www.familysearch.org)

One of the first things I noticed when I saw this draft record was that the contact person listed is Pauline Summers, residing at the same address as Ed. This point will come up again at the end.

This is the back of the registration card.

Ok, so this is a screenshot of the death index. You can see that he is listed here as widowed. Ed’s wife, Lassie Burton Bellar, had passed on December 9, 1941, just 4 months and 14 days prior to his signing the registration. His children I am aware of:

Leon Edward Summers, Jr (1903-1959)

Lassie Ophelia Summers (1906-1973)

Robert Emmanuel Summers (1908-1999)

(Eva) Clarice Summers (1911-1912)

Addie Mae Summers (1914-?)

Thomas Ensor Summers (1918-1983)

Raymond Parker Summers (1921-1989)

So who is Pauline? Well, I had to do a little digging around, but I finally found a page of cemetery transcriptions for Highland Cemetery in Guthrie, Todd County, Kentucky. She is listed as the wife of Robert Emmanuel Summers: Pauline P. Summers (1908-1994). I have not yet found a marriage record. I’m thinking that perhaps he was in the military (no, I haven’t found his military cards yet). I haven’t done much research on this line of the Summers family, meaning Leon Edward “Ed” Summers, Sr. I am working on it, however.

As an aside, something I noticed today when I was attempting for find why Pauline would have been a contact (instead of Ed’s kids, I mean) was a new category on Fold3: further

Notice that two of the sub-categories are free!

A Birthplace for McQueen

Today I was hunting and pecking, just check to see if I could find any further information about Peter McQueen or his sister Ann…and I did! I found a birth location for Ann, which is a possible birth location for Peter!

Titled Department of Archives and History, Georgia’s Official Register, 1929, Compiled by Ruth Blair (State Historian and Director), page 109:

JOHN McQUEEN MULLINS, Durand. Farmer. Born June 25, 1870 in O’Neal’s Mill, Troup Co., Ga. Son of David Hill Mullins (born Aug. 1, 1820 in Martinsville, Henry Co., Va.; resident of O’Neal’s Mill, Troup Co., Ga.; farmer and tobacco manufacturer; died Feb. 4, 1880) and Virginia (Wood) Mullins (born July 31, 1833 in Meriwether Co., Ga.; died Jan. 27, 1919). Grandson of Henry Mullins (born in Henry Co., Ca.) and Matilda (Hill) Mullins (born in Henry Co., Va.), and of Stephen Wood (born in Lunenburg Co., Va.) and Anne (McQueen) Wood (born in Edgefield Dist., S.C.). Educated in local school. Married Jan. 31, 1911 Mary Griffin, daughter of Reuben Leitner Griffin (Mch. 4, 1847-Apr. 12, 1920) and Georgia Holmes Griffin (Mch 1, 1850 June 13, 1924). Children: Virginia Wood (born Nov. 12, 1913), Jack McQueen (born Sep. 5, 1917), Mary Ellen (born Aug. 4, 1922). Methodist. Democrat. Delegate, State Democratic Conventions, 1906, 1920; member, House of Rep., Meriwether Co., 1898-99, 1927.

Edgefield District, South Carolina! Now, I don’t know Peter’s exact birth date, but I do know he was born approximately 1795. And since he, too, said he was born in South Carolina my guess is that he also was born in Edgefield District. So, I went and looked up the 1790 census for Edgefield. It’s a name transcribed as “Jams McQueen” (James, I assume) on both Ancestry and Family Search. However, someone submitted different information on the Ancestry transcription claiming it to say “Saml”. You decide:

Anyway, I will now need to find all probate records in the surrounding counties to see if I can find any further information. Since those counties were formed from Edgefield later on in the 19th century, I may be able to find records in those counties if the particular areas transferred.

The only other new information I have found on Peter was a postal advertisement in the Louisiana Herald (Alexandria, Louisiana) on January 21, 1820 notifying people that their mail would continued to be held at the post office for at least three months. So, this puts Peter:

April 30, 1818 – in New Orleans, Louisiana purchasing a slave named Daniel

January 1820 – apparently living in or around Alexandria, Louisiana

November 27, 1820 – in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana for his marriage to Elizabeth Freeland

However, he still doesn’t appear on any census record whatsoever until 1840 in Marshall County, Mississippi. Odd.

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.”

Interesting Doodles

I have been looking at this page for so long, and I still can’t figure out why this was done.

This was found in the file of Ellen Watson Demumbrie’s estate records. As I had mentioned in this post, Spencer was married first to Ellen Watson. I have no clue when she actually died, just that her estate records begin in June of 1849 (approximately 6 months after they married).

This record was found on the Memphis-Shelby County Archives website. Most of it is just Tennessee written over and over. Other names written on it are DM Currin, EM Yergen, EWM King, and Lewis W Daniel.

I will post more about Ellen Watson in the future. As soon as I figure out who she is!

In Memory

My 2nd great-grandfather Isaac T Vincent

September 23, 1854 – December 31, 1921

My 2nd great-uncle Acra Archie Cathey

July 24, 1894 – December 31, 1944

Photo courtesy of Tracey M.

My mother-in-law Elaine Wallace Smith

November 14, 1941 – December 31, 2011

Christmas Rock Cakes

My mom’s friend Anne Sim from Elgin in Morayshire, Scotland sent a cookbook to my mom that contains Scottish recipes. Anne admitted that she is not a cook, but her mother Mary Ann Noble was a cook for a large house in Edinburgh. When inquiring about Christmas recipes Anne said: Mothers fav. to bake was rock cakes, shortbread, Oatcakes, pancakes & scones, all baked in the "Range" (Aga) in the kitchen. Unfortunately, like most excellent cooks, Mary Ann made up her own recipes and didn’t measure ingredients. And unfortunately there was no recipe for rock cake in the cookbook she sent. I asked Marion Smith, my husband’s distant cousin from England, but she didn’t have a recipe either. So, after a bit of research, I was able to take the scone recipe from the Scottish cookbook and modify it into a, hopefully, acceptable version of a Christmas Rock Cake!

Christmas Rock Cake

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of flour

6 teaspoons of baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of currants

1 stick of butter

1 large egg

1 cup of milk

Directions:

Place flour in the bowl of a mixer (trust me, using a mixer makes this a ton easier than doing it by hand). Turn mixer on low and add baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and currants. Cut the butter into small chunks and add, allowing the mixture to become slightly crumbly. Add the egg and mix well. SLOWLY add the milk and mix well. The mix should be the consistency of drop biscuit dough. Then, like drop biscuits, drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Yields about 18 cakes.

Serve warm with butter! Yum!

I do want to also add the Soda Scone recipe that is in the Scottish cookbook Anne sent. They sound so delicious!

Soda Scones from the Daily Record Guide to Scottish Cooking (the Daily Record has been around since 1895).

Ingredients:

1 pound of plain flour

1 ounce of baking powder

2 ounces of sugar

2 ounces of oil

1/2 pint of milk

Directions:

Place oil, milk, and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add the sieved flour and mix well. Divide into four equal pieces an roll each into a six-inch disc. Flour well and bake on a hot griddle until cooked all the way through.

Thank you Anne for the book and idea! And thank you Marion for pointing me in the right direction to research this to come up with a recipe!

Oh, and Harry Potter fans…you’re welcome!

Mom’s Christmas Potato Log Candy

The recipe for this Christmas Potato Log Candy was submitted by Mark De Monbrun from the Timothy DeMonbreun Descendants, et al Facebook group as Mom’s Rot Your Teeth errr. . Christmas Potato Log Candy. Also called Amish Potato Candy and Irish Potato Candy, This stuff is amazing! It is very, very sweet. And oh so yummy! I am posting the recipe just as Mark did.

Christmas Potato Log Candy

Ingredients:

One Large Potato

Three Boxes Powdered Sugar. Maybe Four.

Peanut Butter With or Without Nuts.

Directions:

Peel, Boil, & Mash One Large Potato.
In a bowl put a couple scoops of the mashed potatoes.
Add Powdered Sugar mixing till you get a nice dough.
Sprinkle Powdered Sugar on to a large preferably marble or glass (wood or plastic will do) surface and on to a rolling pin.
Roll out the dough till it’s Pie Crust (1/8th"or so) thick.
Cut the ends straight so it’s a rectangle about 10" by 16" or so.
Glob a thin (or thick) layer of Peanut Butter all over it leaving maybe 1/2" on the far end bare. Sprinkle with nuts or use Chunky Peanut Butter if that be your want
Use a sharp knife also sprinkled with Powdered Sugar to help separate the dough from the glass work area as you are rolling in to a Log.
Semi-Cut almost all the way through in to half inch pieces while leaving the Log somewhat intact. Refrigerate.
Yields Four To Six 10" by 3" Logs. . . Enjoy!!!
And, Be Sure To Rinse Your Mouth or Brush Your Teeth Immediately.

Notes: Joyce DeMonbrun, also a member of the Facebook group, says:

For Christmas add red or green food color when you boil the potatoes.

You can also do nutella or almond butter.

And Mark is right! make sure to brush your teeth after you eat these!

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