52 Ancestors: Week 6 "Surprise": Nellie Cox Finally Found!

For years, I have been searching for my 2nd-great-grandmother Sarah Claire "Sadie" (Dyer) Gatlin's half-sister Nellie Cox. Nellie and her husband Owen McDonough were charged as accessories to murder after Tom Cox, Nellie's brother and Sadie's half-brother, shot and killed Ben Dowell, a police officer in 1903. A mistrial was declared. The 1906 Nashville city directory stated that Owen McDonough had moved to Birmingham, Alabama. I hadn't been able to locate Owen or Nellie since then.

Sadie died in Chicago, Illinois on 20 January 1945. Her death notice mentioned a surviving sister, Mrs. E. Goolsby. All of Sadie's other siblings were dead, so Mrs. E. Goolsby had to be Nellie.

A few months ago, I finally located Nellie's first husband, Owen McDonough. I found him listed in Lorain, Ohio city directories in the 1920s. His wife was named Jennie. Apparently Nellie's first marriage ended in divorce. I don't know when Owen and Nellie split up, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were when Owen left Nashville. Being charged as accessories to the murder that Nellie's brother committed probably put a strain on their marriage.

Since I had finally located Owen, I decided to try searching for Nellie again, although I had searched before without success. And much to my surprise, I immediately found her!

Nevada. Department of Health. Death certificate 65-1741 (1965), Nellie Dale Goolsby. Ancestry.com. Nevada, Death Certificates, 1911-1965 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

Nellie died in Las Vegas, Nevada on 13 July 1965. I never expected to find her there! Her death certificate confirmed that her mother's maiden name was Mary Reynolds. My conclusion was correct. Her date of birth was consistent with the ages found in earlier census  records. And I now had her second husband's name, Ezra A. Goolsby.

I still haven't located her in census records after 1900. Ezra Goolsby was enumerated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1940. He was a hotel proprietor. Nellie wasn't listed with him. It's possible that he just didn't mention her, though. Nellie and her first husband Owen McDonough both seem to have managed to avoid the census takers for decades. They may have been afraid that they would be tried as accessories to murder again.

Ezra Goolsby's mother, Salemma W. (Harris) Goolsby, died in Chicago, Illinois on 6 May 1926. His brother, Fleming Goolsby, lived in Chicago in 1930. Perhaps Nellie and Ezra met in Chicago. Sadie and her husband and children lived there; she was Nellie's only living sibling.

Nellie and Ezra (who died in 1979) are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Las Vegas.

52 Ancestors: Week 4 "At the Library": The Truth About the Death of Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Graham Mapplebeck

According to her death certificate, my 2nd-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Graham Mapplebeck died of coronary sclerosis due to chronic nephritis on 4 March 1942.

 Elizabeth Maplebeck death certificate. Missouri State Board of Health.

She was 80 years old, so the cause of death seemed quite plausible. I never suspected that there was more to it until I visited the Hayner Public Library District's Genealogy & Local History Library in Alton, Illinois, where Elizabeth and her children had lived for a time. I searched the digitized newspaper collection and came across a brief item from the 5 March 1942 issue of the Joplin Globe entitled "Two St. Louis Women Overcome by Smoke, Die." One of the women was Elizabeth Mapplebeck!

I went to the St. Louis County Library to look for more information. At that time, I did not have access to the digital archives of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, so I looked through the microfilm. The 3 March 1942 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained more details ("Invalid Perishes in Nursing Home Fire; 9 Overcome," p. 3.). A fire had broken out at the Brantwood Nursing Home in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri. The nursing home had opened about four months previously, and had no outside fire escape. The fire started near the motor for the electric icebox. One man, Henry Kern, died of asphyxiation an hour after he was taken to the hospital. Five others had been carried out while unconscious, but had been revived. Three people were stated to be in serious condition. Elizabeth Mappleback was at the hospital, but was not considered to be in serious condition. However, the next day, her death was reported ("Woman, 82, Second Victim of Lemay Hospital Fire." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4 March 1942, p. 7C. )

It is strange that there was no mention of anything related to the fire on her death certificate. She must have suffered from smoke inhalation. Perhaps the stress of the experience brought on a heart attack.

52 Ancestors: Week 4 "I'd Like to Meet": Gertrude Tarkington

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been a cat person. The photo of my great-grandmother Gertrude Tarkington holding a cat gives me a good feeling about her. She looks like a nice woman, and I get the feeling that I would have liked her.

Although my father knew her, he didn't see her that often, since she lived in New York when he was growing up. She must have been a good mother; there was a history of violence and abuse on my great-grandfather's side of the family, but my grandfather was a good man. Clearly she raised him right.

52 Ancestors: Week 3 "Unusual Name": Astyanax

Hector's last visit to his family before his duel with Achilles: Astyanax, on Andromache's knees, stretches to touch his father's helmet. Apulian red-figure column-crater, ca. 370–360 BC. From Ruvo. Stored in the Museo Nazionale of the Palazzo Jatta in Ruvo di Puglia (Bari). Jastrow, 2006. Public domain. Wikimedia Commons.

One of the unusual names I have come across in my family tree is Astyanax. In Greek mythology, Astyanax was the son of the Trojan prince Hector and his wife Andromache.

The first Astyanax I have come across is Astyanax Mills, the son of  Archibald Ewing Mills and Nancy Hardgrave (sister of my 5th-great-grandmother Hannah Hardgrave.) He was born in Kentucky and was a child when his father died around 1814. He may have died young. However, the name continued in the family.

Astyanax Mills Douglass (10 September 1838 - 1 March 1908) was the son of James S. Douglass and Caroline Mills (half-sister/half-first cousin of Astyanax Mills; daughter of Nancy Hardgrave and her second husband John F. Mills, the half-brother of Archibald Ewing Mills.) He was a physician, Confederate officer, and Texas state representative. He was born and raised in Sumner County, Tennessee. He studied medicine in Nashville and earned his medical degree in 1861. He served in Company I of the Sixth Mississippi Infantry Regiment and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant after the Battle of Shiloh. After he was wounded in 1862, he went to Bowling Green, Kentucky and served as assistant surgeon. He returned to the Sixth Mississippi Infantry Regiment in 1863. After the war, he returned to Sumner County, Tennessee and practiced medicine, then moved to Covington, Hill County, Texas. He served in the Texas State Legislature from 13 January 1874-18 April 1876; 18 April 1876-14 January 1879; and 14 January 1879-11 January 1881, and served in the Texas State Senate from 10 January 1893-10 January 1895 and 13 January 1903-10 January 1905. He was chairman of the Texas State Board of Health and president of the Medical and Surgical Association of Hill County, the Medical Examining Board of the Eighteenth Judicial District, and the Confederate Veterans and Old Settlers Association of Hill County. He was profiled on the blog The Strangest Names in American Political History.

Astyanax Mills Douglass had a son, Astyanax Saunders Douglass (24 September 1871-27 April 1897), who had a son also named Astyanax Saunders Douglass (19 September 1897-26 January 1975.) This Astyanax was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1921 and 1925. He was a veteran of World War I. He was a coach at Amarillo High School in Amarillo, Texas, and named the team the Golden Sandstorms. He later founded Furniture Warehouse Stores of El Paso, Texas.

Elizabeth L. Mills, daughter of John F. Mills and his first wife Frances Thurmond, and stepsister/half-first cousin of Astyanax Mills, had a son named Astyanax Mills Duncan (6 February 1833-5 September 1921). He lived in and near Sumner County, Tennessee.

The name Astyanax was also used as a middle name in the family. Ann Hardgrave Mills, the daughter of Nancy Hardgrave and John F. Mills, had a son named Dero Astyanax Saunders (13 June 1858-28 June 1913). He lived in Mississippi. He had a son who was also named Dero Astyanax Saunders (9 March 1900-15 October 1961), who fathered a third Dero Astyanax Saunders (13 September 1931-15 March 1969.)

References
Bork, June, comp. Wayne County, Kentucky Deed Book B (1811-1818). San Diego, CA: June Bork, 1993. Deed abstracts: Joel Coffey & Patsy his wife to the heirs of Arch. E. Mills, dec'd, 24 Nov 1814; Joshua Jones Sr. & Hannah his wife to Nancy Mills, widow of Archibald Mills, et al., 9 Mar 1816.
Miller, Aragorn Storm. Douglass, Astyanax M. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
A. M. Douglass. Texas Legislators: Past and Present. Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
Find A Grave, Astyanax S Douglass
Astyanax Douglass - Wikipedia
Astyanax Douglass. Baseball Reference.
Astyanax Douglass - "A Horned Frog Makes Good"
Death notice, A. S. Douglass. El Paso Herald-Post, 27 Jan 1975, p. C-7.
"Concerning Names." El Paso Herald-Post, 1 Feb 1975, p. B-1.
Find A Grave, Astynas Mills Duncan
Find A Grave, Dero Astyanax Saunders
Find A Grave, Dero Astanyax Saunders
Find A Grave, Dero Astyanax Saunders, Jr.

52 Ancestors: Week 1 "First": Godfrey Spruill

My 9th-great-grandfather Godfrey Spruill was the first doctor in North Carolina. He was born about 1650, and received a land patent in James City County, Virginia on 31 October 1684. By 1694, he was living in North Carolina, and he was practicing medicine in Edenton by 1702.

Dillard, Richard. "Some Early Physicians of the Albemarle." The North Carolina Booklet, pp. 17-18. North Carolina Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, July 1911.

Godfrey and his wife Joanna had the following children:

• Samuel (my 8th-great-grandfather), who married (1) Elizabeth Swain (my 8th-great-grandmother) and (2) Mary
• Godfrey
• Joseph
• Susannah, who married Cuthbert Phelps
• Anna Margaritta, who married (1) James Stuart and (2) Samuel Boutwell
• Mary

Sources:
Godfrey Spruill - Wikipedia
Godfrey Spruill - Bagwells.com
Godfrey Spruill, 1694 NC
Re: Godfrey Spruill, 1694 NC
The North Carolina Booklet

52 Ancestors: Week 52 "Resolution": Andrew Russell

My 5th-great-grandfather Andrew Russell is one of my brick walls. I do not know when or where he was born, or who his parents were. Some online family trees state that he was born in 1778 in North Carolina, but I have never seen a source for this information. There were men named Andrew Russell in Augusta County, Virginia, where my Andrew Russell's wife's parents were from; I suspect that he may be related to them.

Andrew Russell married Hannah Hardgrave on 28 June 1799 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. In 1800, he lived in Pulaski County, Kentucky, which had been created from parts of Lincoln and Green Counties in December 1798.

He was one of the commissioners that helped to plan the town of Somerset (the county seat of Pulaski County) and arrange the location of public buildings such as the courthouse, jail, and stocks. (Pulaski County Fact Book II: Chapter 2: The Founding and Growth of Somerset.)

He was enumerated in Somerset in the 1810 United States census. This is the only census record that I have for him. His household consisted of 1 free white male age 26-44, 2 free white males under age 10, and 1 free white female age 26-44, 1 free white female age 10-15, and 3 free white females under age 10.

1810 United States census, Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky, roll 8, page 143, image 00135. Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Andrew was a private in Tunstall Quarles' Company of Infantry, 2nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Militia during the War of 1812. His regiment constructed Fort Jennings in Ohio and remained there on garrison duty. They later headed north up to Put-in-Bay, Ohio. They were sent back to Cincinnati and discharged in 1813. The 2nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Militia Reenactment Group's unit history provides more information on the regiment's activities.

Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky. Soldiers of the War of 1812. Printed by authority of the legislature of Kentucky. Frankfort, KY: E. Polk Johnson, 1891. Available from Internet Archive.

Compiled service record, Andrew Russell, Pvt., Tunstall Quarles' Company of Infantry, 2nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Militia, War of 1812. Record Group 94. National Archives, Washington, DC.

In the 1820 United States census, Andrew's wife Hannah was enumerated as head of household in Davidson County, Tennessee. Andrew may have died by 1820. I have found no further record of him.

This year I kept my resolution to obtain Andrew Russell's military records from the National Archives and Records Administration. In the coming year, I resolve to obtain land records. According to a Rootsweb family tree page for James Matthews (who rented land from Andrew Russell), Andrew Russell received two certificates for 100 and 300 acres of land on Pitman's Creek in June 1801. According to note 10, this information came from Pulaski County Order Books 1 and 2.

I will also take another look at the microfilmed Pulaski County, Kentucky tax lists at my local Family History Center. I made digital copies of the relevant pages, but some of the microfilm was very hard to read. Some of the copies are difficult to read; those pages might be a little easier to read if I go back to the microfilm. Fortunately some images, like the one below, are legible.

1800 Tax List, Pulaski County, Kentucky. Pulaski County (Kentucky). Tax Assessor. Tax books 1799-1822. Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky State Historical Society, 1952-1953. Family History Library microfilm 8209.

52 Ancestors: Week 51 "Nice": James William Tarkington

My 2nd-great-grandfather James William Tarkington was born on 28 May 1850 in Tennessee, probably in Davidson County. He was the son of  Joseph Tarkington and Amanda Russell.
 

From family group sheet compiled by P. C. Lampley, 12 December 1983.

Joseph, Amanda and James Tarkington lived in Davidson County, Tennessee in 1850, near Amanda's family.

1850 United States census, Davidson County, Tennessee, population schedule, roll M432_875, page 279B, image 564. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

By 1860, the Tarkington family was living in Williamson County, Tennessee. They probably moved there in 1858 after Amanda's uncle James Russell purchased land in Williamson County as trustee for her mother Sobrina Russell.

1860 United States census, District 1, Williamson County, Tennessee, population schedule, page 98. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

By 1870, James was no longer living in his parents' household. He had moved in with James and Louisa Sawyer, who were living in Davidson County, Tennessee.

1870 United States census, District 11, Davidson County, Tennessee, population schedule, page 21. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

In 1877, James and his brother George worked as guards at the penitentiary.

Directory of Nashville, Edgefield, and Adjacent Towns in Tennessee, for 1877. Compiled by T. M. Haddock. Nashville: Tavel, Eastman & Howell. Page 348. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

In 1880, James was still living with James and Louisa Sawyer, but this census revealed something new: his relationship to the head of the household was "Gr. son." Since James and Louisa had married in 1845, James Tarkington could not be the son of a child that they had together. When I first came across this record, my first thought was of the family tree in my father's baby book, which stated that James William Tarkington's mother was Amanda Sawyer. Although Louisa (McDowell) Sawyer's previous husband was Asbury Tarkington, they married in 1832, and Joseph Tarkington was born in 1830. Since Joseph Tarkington married Amanda Russell in 1849, I think that the birth year of 1830 is likely to be correct. For further analysis, see my posts on Amanda Russell and Joseph Tarkington.

1880 United States census, Fourteenth District, Davidson County, Tennessee, population schedule, page 5. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

James married Anna Malvina Binkley (listed as Louvina D. Binkley on their marriage license; I have found so many variant forms of her name!) on 30 November 1880. They were married by Samuel W. Bransford, Minister of the Gospel.

Davidson County, Tennessee marriage license, James W. Tarkington and Louvina D. Binkley. 30 November 1880. Nashville, Tennessee: Metropolitan Government Archives.

Davidson County, Tennessee marriage license, James W. Tarkington and Louvina D. Binkley. 30 November 1880. Nashville, Tennessee: Metropolitan Government Archives.

James and Anna had five children: Laura Belle Tarkington (born 27 August 1881), Mary Magdalene or Margaret Tarkington (born 15 February 1884), Viola Maydell Tarkington (born 15 September 1886), my great-grandmother Anna Gertrude Tarkington (born 16 April 1889), and Robert Vaughn Tarkington (born 15 December 1892).

In 1885, Louisa Sawyer wrote her will. She left her estate to her husband James Sawyer, and specified that after his death, it was to go to her grandson James W. Tarkington. None of Joseph and Amanda Tarkington's other children were mentioned in the will. If James W. Tarkington was her biological grandchild, his siblings would be too. It seems far more likely that she would leave her property to a step-grandson that had lived with her for at least ten years and who she probably had come to think of as a grandson, than that she would disinherit her son and all but one of her grandchildren.

Will of Louisa Sawyer, 28 January 1885.

James William Tarkington died at his parents' home in Nashville on 12 June 1894. The cause of death was emphysema. He was buried at the J. R. Binkley Cemetery in Vaughn's Gap.

Davidson County, Tennessee death registers, June 1894. No. 653, James Tarkington. (Side 1). Ancestry.com. Tennessee, City Death Records, 1872-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.Original data: Tennessee City Death Records, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, 1848-1907. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Davidson County, Tennessee death registers, June 1894. No. 653, James Tarkington. (side 2). Ancestry.com. Tennessee, City Death Records, 1872-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.Original data: Tennessee City Death Records, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, 1848-1907. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives. 

Daily American, 13 June 1894, page 5

Nashville Banner, 13 June 1894

It was nice of James William Tarkington to live with his grandparents (biological and step) for so many years. He was probably very helpful to them. His step-grandmother seems to have loved him as her own grandson. And the documentary evidence of this living arrangement provided me with important clues that helped me to identify his mother's father. That was very nice too!

52 Ancestors: Week 50 "Naughty": Michael J. Dyer

Many members of my family would be good choices for this week's 52 Ancestors theme, "Naughty." I have written about many of them already. I keep finding more and more "black sheep." This week I will focus on my 2nd-great-grandmother's brother Michael J. "Mike" Dyer, who only recently was added to the "naughty list" of relatives after I did more research in newspapers.

Mike was born about 1868 in Tennessee, probably Nashville (his family's place of residence). He was the son of Irish immigrants Mary and Michael Dyer. In 1870, Mike's father committed suicide. His mother remarried John Cox in 1871, but was widowed in 1878.

In 1884, Mike and his friends Patrick Kane and David Hanley (or Harley) ran away from home. Mike stole $40 from his mother's grocery store and got on a train in Nashville. They stopped at Louisville, Kentucky to buy revolvers, and then got off the train in Cincinnati, Ohio. They wanted to go West. They had been reading about Jesse James and Buffalo Bill, and wanted to scalp Indians and experience the Wild West. But they were hungry and broke, so they tried to sell their guns, and were arrested. Telegraphs were sent to their families.

Daily American (Nashville, TN), 17 April 1884, page 4

The "Bound for the Plains" article, which was published in the 17 April 1884 issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer,was reprinted in the Nashville newspaper Daily American, 18 April 1884.

 

Cincinnati Enquirer, 17 April 1884, page 4

In May 1888, Mike was charged with assault with intent to kill.

Daily American (Nashville, TN), 8 May 1888, page 4

In February 1892, Mike shot at William Dunn, who was engaged in a fight with Dave Farrell, and one of the bullets hit Dunn's thigh. Mike's half-brother Tom Cox then whipped out a knife and cut Dunn's neck.

Daily American (Nashville. TN), 27 February 1892, page 3

Shortly afterward, Mike appeared in City Court on the charges of assault with and carrying a pistol and shooting in corporate limits.

 Daily American (Nashville, TN), 1 March 1892, page 3

In 1893, Mike was charged with carrying weapons.

Daily American (Nashville, TN), 6 September 1893, page 4

In September 1894, Mike was arrested for gaming and was fined $10.

Nashville Daily American, 11 September 1894, page 6

On December 12, 1895, Mike and Charles Neyman got into a fight.  Charles, who claimed that Mike started the fight, hit Mike on the head with a hammer. Mike's skull was fractured, and several pieces of bone had to be removed. It was reported that he would recover.

Nashville American, 14 December 1895, page 6

However, on 24 December 1895, Mike died at his mother's home.

Nashville American, 25 December 1895, page 5

Two days after Mike's death notice was published, an item appeared in the newspaper which provided more information. Mike died of "congestion of brain."  He must have died as a result of the blow on his head. I wonder if Charles Neylan was charged with murder. He should have been.

Nashville American, 27 December 1895, page 5

Mike's half-brother William Cox died on 2 March 1896. When William was buried, Mike's body was removed from a vault and buried at the same time.

Nashville American, 3 March 1896, page 4

52 Ancestors: Week 49 "Holidays": Mathias Joseph Nagel Decorates the Churches

My 2nd-great-grandmother Christina Nagel's brother Mathias Joseph Nagel was a landscape gardener. Their father Johann Nagel was also a gardener. Mathias came to the United States from Germany in the 1860s. He had a nursery business in Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri by 1875. In 1891, he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In December 1892, he contributed his gardening and landscaping talents to his new community's holiday celebration. He used green and silver-tipped cedar and mountain laurel to create Christmas decorations for the Catholic churches. He made wreaths and strings of evergreens.

New Mexican, 17 December 1892

He may have created similar decorations in other years.  He had experience planting and growing evergreens.

Gardeners Monthly, vol. 29, November 1887, page 326. Available from Google Books.

The laurel that he used was probably Texas mountain laurel. It is listed in the book Native Plants for Southern Landscapes by Judy Mielke (University of Texas Press, 1993). Texas mountain laurel grows in Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. It blooms in March and April, so its purple flowers would not have been present when Mathias made the wreaths and evergreen strings. I think the plant's white beans would look beautiful on Christmas wreaths.

Sophora secundiflora beans at the Desert Demonstration Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2003. Photo by Stan Shebs [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

One of the churches that he probably decorated was the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The parish was founded in 1714, and the construction of the cathedral was completed in 1887.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. 4 June 2009. Photo by John Fowler [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]. Available from Flickr and  Wikimedia Commons.

He may also have decorated San Miguel Chapel, which was built between 1610 and 1626.

San Miguel Chapel. 15 October 2009. Photo by Shiny Things  [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]. Available from Flickr and  Wikimedia Commons.

Perhaps he also decorated Nuestra Señora de Luz Church, which is 13 miles southeast of Santa Fe. The church was built in 1880.

Front of the Nuestra Señora de Luz Church, Canoncito, New Mexico. Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division HABS: NM,25-CANCI,1-1. Image courtesy of the federal HABS—Historic American Buildings Survey of New Mexico project (rotated and retouched). Available from Wikimedia Commons.

I do not have photos of Mathias' Christmas decorations, but this image of evergreen decorations in Santa Fe, New Mexico may help to paint a mental picture of his creations.

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo by Bill Johnson [CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

52 Ancestors: Week 48 "Thankful": Samuel Lee Mayo

My 3rd-great-grandmother Angeline (Mayo) Binkley was probably thankful for the support of her older brother Samuel Lee Mayo.

Samuel Lee and Angeline were the children of Jacob Dillard Mayo and Eliza Gordon. They were born in Virginia but moved to Davidson County, Tennessee withe their parents in the 1830s.

Samuel Lee married Amanda Ezell on 5 February 1848 in Davidson County, Tennessee. They had three children: Zachary Taylor Mayo, William Daniel Mayo, and Amanda Jane Mayo. Samuel Lee married his second wife Tabitha Elizabeth Riggan on 21 September 1854 in Davidson County, Tennessee. They had four children: Samuel Lee Mayo, Mary Mayo, Charles A. Mayo, and Alonzo M. Mayo.

Angeline, her husband Davidson Binkley, and their son William Searcy Binkley moved from Tennessee to Williamson County, Illinois in the 1850s. They had two more children, Anna Malvina (my 2nd-great-grandmother) and James Rutherford Binkley. Davidson enlisted in the Union Army in 1862. He died of measles in Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois while serving with Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry.

After Davidson's death, Angeline and their children returned to Tennessee. In 1870, they lived with her brother Samuel Lee, his wife Tabitha Elizabeth, his son William, and their children Samuel Lee, Mary, Charles, and Alonzo.

1870 United States Census, District 14, Davidson County, Tennessee, population schedule, page 10. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

By 1880, Angeline and her children lived on their own. Samuel Lee may have helped Angeline purchase a home.  According to a note on a family group sheet compiled by P. C. Lampley, Davidson and Angeline (Mayo) Binkley's granddaughter Laura Belle (Tarkington) Leech said that "Lee Mayo" gave "Grandma Binkley" money to buy a house at Vaughn's Gap, Davidson County, Tennessee.

From family group sheet compiled by P. C. Lampley.

Samuel Lee Mayo seems to have been a supportive big brother to his sister Angeline. She probably felt thankful.

So Many Ancestors: Week 47 "Sporting": Theodore Christopher Troedson

Theodore Christopher "Terry" Troedson was the son of my 2nd-great-grandfather's brother Ola Peter Troedson and Rosina Catharine Louise Walter. He was born on 17 October 1879 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Terry was involved in sports. He played rugby football; his position was forward. He also participated in rowing and sailing.

Truth, 4 November 1928, page 12. Available from Trove.

In 1903 and 1904, he was a member of the Brisbane Juniors.

Brisbane Courier, 10 August 1903, page 6. Available from Trove.

Brisbane Courier, 16 July 1904, page 10. Available from Trove.

This photo depicts the winners of the Queensland Rugby Union second grade Brisbane premierships in 1901, 1903, and 1904. The team played ten matches (nine wins, one draw).

Players and officials of the Fortitude Valley Electorate Football Club, Brisbane, ca. 1904. P. C. Poulsen. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Available from OneSearch. Players and officials: J. T. Murray, F. Story, J. Fihelly, George MacPherson, George Brotherton, A. Luke, T. Hall, J. Diamond, H. Drake, George Benson, P. Crowe, K. MacSwaine, M. Brennan, T. J. Donovan (Representative Q.R.U.), I. Russel, (Vice President), J. T. Corrigan (Vice President), T. W. Haslett, T. C. Troedson (Captain), G. Murray, Jno Coulter (Patron), J. A. Imrie (Honorable Secretary).

In this photo, he is pictured with the Past Grammar School Rugby Union Club in 1905.

Past Grammar School Rugby Union Club, 1905 season. P. C. Poulsen. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Available from OneSearch and from Wikimedia Commons. Back row:  R. Murray, C. K. Lea. Middle row:  C. E. Parkinson, A. W. Leeds, D. F. Storey, H. S. Smith, G. W. Murray, F. G. Lewis, G. H. Blanchard. Front row: A. J. Bennett, J. Dalrymple, T. Troedson, F. C. Cleeve (Captain), T. J. Brundrit, R. Collins, N. R. Murray. In front: F. Walsh, J. Robertson. 

Brisbane Courier, 12 May 1905, page 5. Available from Trove.

Brisbane Courier, 12 May 1905, page 7. Available from Trove.

By 1906, Terry was captain of the Past Grammar Rugby Union Club.

 Queensland Figaro, 10 May 1906, page 26. Available from Trove.

 He was eventually elected patron of the Past Grammar Football Club.

Brisbane Courier, 22 February 1929, page 6, Available from Trove. 

He was a member of the Brisbane Dingey Sailing Club.

Brisbane Courier, 16 March 1906, page 7. Available from Trove.

 

 Brisbane Courier, 18 April 1907, page 2. Available from Trove.

He was also a member of the Commercial Rowing Club.

Telegraph (Brisbane), 7 November 1908, page 3. Available from Trove.

The Week (Brisbane), 29 January 1909, page 29. Available from Trove.

The adjective "sporting" definitely described Theodore Christopher Troedson!