1902 Train Death Explains Mysterious Sightings on Bells, Tenn. Railroad Tracks

When I was last in the Genealogy Room at the Elma Ross Library, I took a few minutes to look at some old microfilmed newspapers. An article I ran across, written in 1903, certainly explains all the mysterious sightings people claim to have of a ghost on the train tracks near Bells, Tenn.

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Killed by a TrainUnfortunate Stranger Meets a Horrible Death

Killed by a Train
Unfortunate Stranger Meets a Horrible Death

"The Brownsville States Graphic"
January 1903

On Christmas Day train No. 103 south-bound, due to arrive here at 1:49 p.m. (but one hour late that day) ran over and killed a man who was lying on the track near the water tank at the south fork of the Forked Deer, between Jones and Bells. The train was stopped and the corpse placed in the baggage car and brought to Brownsville.

An investigation of the injuries showed that his skull was crushed on the left side of his head and his right leg cut off just above the shoe top. The party killed is a white man about 25 to 28 years old and about 5 feet 9 inches high; dark complexion; very black hair; weight, about 190 pounds.

Coroner S. H. Clark summoned a jury and held an inquest on the remains Monday evening at 8 o’clock. In the pockets of the dead man were found a stone cutter’s chisel and a rule and a railroad brakeman’s time book. Several names and accounts were written on almost every page, but nothing that would give a clue of the identity of the man.

The names occurring most frequently in the book were W. H. Jordan and L. M. Potts. Among other names were Robert Amos, Joe Workley, S. B. Workley, Susan Payne, Viola Payne and Angie Wallace, the latter’s address being given as 270 Hadden Ave., Memphis.
Elbert Murrell testified that the man got off a freight train at the coal chute early Christmas morning and went into the engine room to warm, telling Murrell that he was so cold he could not go any further. He said that he was a stone cutter, that he had friends in Humboldt and expected to get to work in the marble yards there. After getting thoroughly warm he left the coal chute and went to the depot.

The agent and others saw him hanging around the depot for some time but no one knows how or when he left town.

As there were no indications that he was drunk or had been drinking, the natural supposition is that he boarded the north-bound train which passed here about noon and either fell off or was kicked off and then started to walk, failing unconscious from exhaustion at the point where the passenger train truck him.

The remains were prepared for burial at Undertaker Cox’s establishment and interred in Oakwood cemetery ay 2 o’clock p.m. Tuesday, appropriate services being conducted by Rev. H. B. Johnston in the presence of a goodly number of our sympathetic citizens.

For more blog entries, visit my Blog Home Page or to check out the genealogy research about my specific family lines, go to my Haywood County Line Genealogy Website.

My Great-aunt Jo Williams, Walter Mondale, James K. Polk and Dancyville, Tenn.

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My Dad and I in the Genealogy Room at the Brownsville Library

The last time I was in Haywood County, Tenn., My dad and I stopped by the Genealogy Room at the Elma Ross Library. I was glad he was with me because he noticed something I likely would have missed. My great-aunt, Jo Williams, who died last year, is featured in a little display because she was a delegate at the 1984 National Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Calif.

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Box of Artifacts from Jo Williams

I don't believe I actually ever met her. She was married to Dempsy Williams, the half-brother of my grandfather, Bo Williams. My grandfather's mother died when he was four and his father later married Eva Overton. Together, they had eight children including Dempsey.

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Jo Williams at the 1984 National Democratic Convention

You can tell from looking at the pictures, Jo Williams had a great time at the convention.  In 1984, the convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. History was made that year when Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to be nominated by either party for the Presidency or Vice-Presidency. 

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Jo Williams at the 1984 National Democratic Convention

Walter Mondale, who had been Vice President in the Carter administration, was nominated for President at the convention. His opposition had included Jesse Jackson and Senator Gary Hart. Mondale was later defeated by one of the largest landslides in U.S. history by Ronald Reagan.

Mondale was later appointed United States Ambassador to Japan by President Bill Clinton.

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Jo Williams at the 1984 National Democratic Convention

Mario Cuomo, who was Governor of New York at the time, gave the keynote speech which has since been celebrated as one of the top speeches in U.S. politics.

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Jo Williams at the 1984 National Democratic Convention

As Vice President of the United States, "Mondale expanded the vice president's role from that of figurehead to presidential advisor, full-time participant, and troubleshooter for the administration.

Subsequent vice presidents have followed this model in the administrations in which they serve."

Paul Kengor, Wreath layer or policy player: the vice president's role in foreign policy (2000) p 85

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Jo Williams' Buttons from the 1984 National Democratic Convention

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Spell Something Right in Memphis

So I can sort of understand someone misspelling "Haywood" but there's really no excuse for misspelling the word "County." At least they got her name right. 

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James K. Polk and James C. Jones Historic Marker

On the way back to my parents' house, we went through Dancyville, Tenn. because of construction on I-40. Dancyville is on the southwestern edge of Haywood County, right at the line of Fayette County, Tenn.

Coincidentally, it turned out this was where Jo Williams had been buried so I wanted to stop and check it out. 

First, right outside the Dancyville Methodist Church Cemetery is a historic marker that commemorates another political event that took place way before 1984.

On June 23, 1841, James K. Polk debated James C. Jones in Dancyville as part of the 1841 Tennessee Governor's race.

James' nickname was "Lean Jimmy" because he was 6'2" and weighed 125 pounds. He defeated Polk and served as Tennessee Governor for two terms. He went on to become the president of Memphis and Charleston Railroad and served in the United States Senate. He spent the end of his life on his farm near Memphis and was buried there in Elmwood Cemetery.

James Polk went on to become the 11th President of the United States and served from 1845 - 1849. 

Most applicable for me, he oversaw the opening of the Smithsonian Institution and the ground-breaking for the Washington Monument. I drive past both every day. 

Polk is considered one of the strongest presidents in U.S. history and is celebrated for many accomplishments including increasing the size of the United States by a third. He died of cholera three months after his term ended and is buried on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.

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Dempsey and Jo Williams Headstone

Jo Williams was buried in the Dancyville Methodist Cemetery. The oldest graves in the cemetery date back to 1830 and is full of veterans of wars gone by, politicians, and even a slave or two.

The most well-known individual buried there would likely be Burchett Douglass who established the Bank of Fayette County and was president until his death in 1849. He was elected to the Tennessee House and Senate, serving as speaker of the house for two sessions. He also was a presidential elector in 1840 on the Whig ticket.

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Dancyville Methodist Church

The Dancyville Methodist Church, which sits just behind the cemetery, is a historic landmark. The first church was built of logs in 1837 and the present building was built in 1850. It's the oldest United Methodist Church in West Tennessee.

You know the oldest church in a town called Dancyville would be Methodist. No Baptist would plant a church in a town with "dance" in the name.

According to "Goodspeed's History of Tennessee," published in 1887, Dancyville, was named after Isaac Dancy, the earliest settler.

"Legend has it that when a couple of merchants bought their first merchandise in St. Louis, they were asked where it should be shipped. There was no post office and the community did not have a name. When the merchants told this, they were asked if there were any kind of businesses in the community. 

They answered, 'Nothing except a blacksmith shop run by Isaac Dancy.' The wholesalers replied, 'We will call it Dancyville and ship the goods there.' 

So that is how the boxes were addressed.. Dancyville, Tennessee.. and they went by boat down the Mississippi and up the Hatchie River to Lowery's Landing. From there they were hauled by ox cart to what became known as Dancyville."

One of the things I love about genealogy...you never know what unusual things you are going to learn when you start exploring.

For more blog entries, visit my Blog Home Page or to check out the genealogy research about my specific family lines, go to my Haywood County Line Genealogy Website.

A Little History of Crockett County, Tenn. from Frances Wood's Bible

Photo/Otis Lundy

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Frances M. Wood's Bible

Last week, I posted the Fowler family photos I received from Jennie West, a mutual descendant of my 3rd great-grandfather, Lewis Fowler. This week, I get to share some photos of a Bible that belonged to my 4th great-grandfather, Frances M. Wood, that were sent to me by another of his descendents, Otis Lundy.

The internet really is the best thing to ever happen to genealogy. Those of us with small fragments of our ancestors lives can find each other and put the small pieces together to get a real sense of who our forefathers (and mothers) really were.

Photo/Otis Lundy

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Frances M. Wood his Bible bought from

Bennet Barrons Store Pense 10/ (Shillings) 

I am grateful that Otis shared his rare ancestry artifact because it helped uncover more about this family for me, but also because it includes references and dates of birth of some of Frances M. Wood's slaves, which are often impossible to find. This will be really helpful for any of these slaves' descendants who may be researching their family lines and have googled themselves to this page.

Frances M. Wood was among the very earliest settlers of the area of Haywood County, Tenn. that later became Crockett County, Tenn.

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l to r: Bob Williams, Elizabeth Castellaw Williams, Bob Castellaw,

Nancy Miranda Johnson Castellaw and headstone of Margaret Louisa Wood Johnson

Frances was the father of Margaret Louisa Wood Johnson, who was the mother of Nancy Miranda Johnson Castellaw, who was the mother of Bob Castellaw, who was the father of Elizabeth Castellaw Williams, who was the mother of Bob Williams, who is my father.

Frances was born in 1777, it appears in or around Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Otis also shared information from the will of Joseph Wood of Edgecombe County, which he had found on FamilySearch.org .  Joseph Wood appears to be Frances' father. The will includes mention of Joseph Wood's wife, Ann, and his children: John Horn Wood (Frances later included "Horn" in the naming of one of his children), Elizabeth Frazer Wood and Frances M (Mastrew?) Wood. The executor was John Milbourne.

Frances later married into the executor's family, although with an alternate last name spelling, on 7 Jan 1806 when he married Elizabeth Milburn. John Milbourne's probate records include Frances Wood and wife Betsy (Elizabeth).

Photo/Otis Lundy

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Title page of Frances Wood's Bible

Note the little poem that appears to have been

cut out of a newspaper: A-shopping I will go,
and visit every mart, Perhaps before returning,
I may win a truant heart.

Around 1824, Frances migrated his family and slaves to West Tennessee. This portion of an article from the "Crockett Times" shows what the area was like at the time.

“It was not till about the year 1824 that the territory now embraced within Crockett County was first settled. At about that time a settlement was made near the Haywood County line, south of the present town of Bells by a number of Middle Tennesseans and North Carolianians, who were attracted to the county by the large growth of yellow poplar, hickory and oak timber.  

Among the above settlers were Francis M. Wood and Charles Wortham, the former coming from North Carolina and the latter from Middle Tennessee…The face of the country, when first viewed by these hardy pioneers, was most beautiful to behold. The woods stretched away into vasts forests of poplar, hickory, oak and ash timber, while in the river and creek bottoms the cypress and tall cane were seen. The face of the earth was covered with pea vines, so high and thick that man or beast could be easily followed by their trail through it.  

The woods abounded with deer, bear, wolves, catamounts, panthers, wild turkey and the smaller game, and upon this game the first settlers were, to a great extent, compelled to subsist, as food was indeed a scarce article. For a number of years afterwards, in fact, until they were all killed off, the stock of the settlers was distroyed, in fact, until they were all killed off, the stock of the settlers was destroyed to an alarming extent by the wolves and bears, scarcely a night passing but a young calf or shoat was carried off."

"The Crockett Times" 50th Anniversary Edition - Wednesday, March 2,1983, Page 9 A.,
Transcribed by Sister Mary Francis Cates, 2001. Source

When Frances and Elizabeth first arrived in the area, they brought with them a household of children and many slaves. Frances wrote down the names and birthdates of his slaves who were born.

Photo/Otis Lundy

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Nigrow Julia was born in yeare of our Lord November 8th day 1827.
Nigrow Stuard was born in yeare of our Lord March 18th day 1828.
Negrow Luverne was born in year of our Lord May 8th day 1828.
Negrow Clabern was bornd in year our Lord March third 1830.
Note the burn hole between words "our" and "Lord" suggesting that
the hole was already there at the time Francis wrote this, otherwise
one of these words would have been where the hole now exists.

Photo/Otis Lundy

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Ridmont son of Ben & Chana was bornd Jan the 10th 1826
Ashley was bornd the 30 of October 1827
Haywood was born July the 30th 1833
Henry was bournd December 1835
Alsira was bournd December 3th 1835
Benson son of Hary [Harry] was bournd July the 11th 1833

Frances and Elizabeth's children were:

Margaret Louisa Wood (my 3rd great-grandmother)

4 Apr 1808 – 28 Mar 1862

Margaret was first married to William R. Wortham.  After his death, she married Charles Randall Johnson and settled in the Johnsons Grove area of Crockett County, Tenn. They had ten children including Nancy Miranda Johnson, my 2nd great grandmother.

Last winter, my father and I visited the Crockett County cemetery where Louisa and her husband, Charles are buried. You can read that blog entry for more about that area.

You can read much more about my Johnson line on the Johnson page of my website.

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Headstones of Charles Randell and Margaret Louisa Wood Johnson

William M. Wood 24 Jan 1811 – 4 Aug 1840

William married Marina Manning and they had one son, Francis John Wood, who obviously was named after his grandfather. William died at the age of 29 in 1840. His son, Francis, was instrumental in the development of Crocket County in the later 1800s. During the Civil War, he was a Captain in Co. G, 27th Tennessee Infantry. (Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications (W9338). Source

In 1871 he was among those who were appointed as commissioners to survey and mark off the boundary lines of the county and in 1872 he was appointed Circuit Court Clerk.  Source

Elizabeth Ann Wood 6 Feb 1814 - ?

Polly Horn Wood 14 Apr 1817 - ?

Nancy Arsena Wood (Otis's 3rd great-grandmother)
30 Jan 1821 – 27 Oct 1906

Nancy married Henry Gatlin “Harry” Winburn. She was his second wife and they had eight children together: Hardy Latham, Sarah Elizabeth, Henry Clay, Nancy Angel, Francis W., Robert Scott, John Joseph, and Ida Louisa.

Otis shared an interesting story about his ancestor, Harry Winburn.

Harry Winburn had eloped with his first wife, Mary Ann Cherry. Her father, Willie P. Cherry, owned Wild Cat Hill Plantation in Martin County, N.C. Her grandfather, Darling Cherry and his brother, Daniel Cherry, were land surveyors and eventually acquired thousands of acres in Tennessee.

According to family history, immediately after they eloped, Henry Winburn and Mary Ann Cherry headed to West Tennessee. Unfortunately, she never arrived, dying on the way while giving birth to their son who was named Hardy. Henry returned to the home of Mary Ann’s parents where he left Hardy to be raised.

Harry then headed to Tennessee once again, but this time it's thought he traveled with Mary Ann’s brother, Willie P. Cherry, and his wife.

Once settled in the Crockett County area, he met and married Nancy Wood and they began their life together.

Nancy and Henry were members of the Dancyville Methodist Church. Henry’s son back in Martin County, N.C. grew up in the Cherry household and was Otis Lundy’s 2nd great grandfather.

An interesting side note, Cherryville, Tenn., named after the family, was the first incorporated town in West Tennessee. Incorporated in 1821, it’s located north of South Forked Deer River, near the Crockett County Line, three and a half miles west of Bells, Tenn. In recent years, the community has been called Clarks, Eason's Store Community and Harris Bluff.

Photo/Otis Lundy

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Very faint pencil signature:
"Elizabeth Ann Wood Haywood County Tennessee 1835"

There is only a little information about Francis Woods life in Crockett County so the entries in his Bible are very helpful.

Written on the back side of the New Testament cover page is:

Francis M. Wood and Elizabeth Milburn was married in year of our Lord 1806 January 7th day.
Luisey Wood was born in year of our Lord 1808 April 4th day.
William M. Wood was born in the year of our Lord 1811 January 24th day.
Departed this life August 5 1840.
Elizabeth Ann Wood was born in the year of our Lord 1814 Feby 6th day.
Poley Horn Wood was born in the year of our Lord 1817 April 14th day.
Nancy Arsena Wood was born in the year of our Lord 1821 January the 30th day.

Another page includes:

Francis Wortham son of William R. Wortham and Louisa his wife was borne Jan 15 day 1827.

This is a reference to Louisa's first husband and their son together.

The U.S. census also provides some information and confirmation regarding Francis and his family. In the census of 1830, Frances was 53 and had a household of 14 which included nine slaves, Frances, Elizabeth and three children: one male, 15 – 19; one female, 5 – 9; and one female 15 – 19.

In the U.S. census of 1840, Frances was 63 and had a household of 12 and still owned nine slaves. In addition to his wife, Frances also had one male, age 10 – 14 living with him.

Frances died on 27 Apr 1843 at the age of 66 in Crockett County and was possibly buried in the Wortham Family cemetery in the middle of a cotton field as is his son, William...and yes, the next time I'm in Tennessee, you can bet I'll be looking for it and will share what I find here on my blog.

Much appreciation goes out to Otis Lundy for sharing his prized possession with us.

For more blog entries, visit my Blog Home Page or to check out the genealogy research about my specific family lines, go to my Haywood County Line Genealogy Website.

Letter from Lewis Fowler

Photo/Jenny West

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Yesterday, I uploaded lots of great photos I received from Jenny West. Also included with the photos was an old letter that Lewis Fowler, my second great-grandfather, wrote to his son, Oliver Fowler, on Christmas Eve in 1920.

I thought the letter was interesting enough it deserved its own blog entry.

I edited the punctuation and spelling.

Brownsville, Tenn
Dec. 24, 1920 

Well Wilson, I received your letter day before yesterday. Was glad to hear from you all again. We have been waiting for a long time. We didn't know what had become of you. (?) ...it may find you all well. We have just got done gathering week before last. 

I have just returned from Jackson. I went to see Daisy and the children. They were all well and I am thinking of going up to Chestnut (Grove) in a few days after xmas if the Lord wills. 

Mollie says tell you ever since you went back they are all well. 

What has become of the children? Vassie and Rose Lee used to write to me and Willie and Otis, where are they? I would love to hear from you all. 

You asked me if times was hard out here. Yes, times are harder here than I have (?) 

Lewis Fowler 

Ed Patterson says his advice is to try to get through the winter the best you can. He says he can live on lizards and grasshoppers until next summer. He says for you to (?) and go on trusting in the good Lord.
So good-buy.

When he wrote this letter in 1920, Lewis was 72 and living with my great-grandparents, Ruby and Jim Lovelace. His wife, Sarah Patterson Lovelace had died in January of that year.

Guy Lovelace, my grandfather, was three years old. Also living in the home was Ovid (age 13), Earl (age 12), Blanche (age 9), Homer (age 5), and Otha (6 months). Two Fowler nephews were also living with the Lovelace family: Jissie (age 13) and Leslie (age 11). I am uncertain of the identity of their parents.

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Lovelace Family in 1920 U.S. census

Living two farms over was Ed Patterson to whom Lewis referred in his letter. Ed was married to Eva Pearl Lovelace who was Jim Lovelace's sister. Lewis' wife was also a Patterson but I'm not certain of the connection.

Lynn Lovelace and his family was living just a few farms over in 1920. Lynn was Lewis' uncle. He and Lewis' father, Thomas A. Lovelace, were brothers.

For me, old letters like this really open up a small window into the past and show the personality of my ancestors much more than photos and other records. Even from this short letter, you get a sense that Lewis Fowler loved his children and grandchildren and was interested in what they were doing and enjoyed visiting with them. If he were around today, he would be posting photos of his grandchildren on his Facebook page.

You can also tell that, although times were hard for them, he had a good sense of humor, including Ed Patterson's comment about living off lizards and grasshoppers.

At some point in the next 10 years, Lewis went to live with his daughter, Mollie, and her husband, G.W. Parker. They were obviously more well-off. In the census of 1930, Mollie was 59 while G.W. was 70. Their farm was valued at $2,500 and living with them was their daughter, Geraldine and a 21-year-old "servant," Rosa Brooks.

Mollie and G.W. had married 18 Feb 1901 when Mollie was 30. I don't know much more about them.

The only bad thing about old letters is they leave me wanting more. The moment that small window opens, it slams shut again. Letters like this are rare and unfortunately many ended up in the trash after being read or once the recipient died.

It's sad to think our own descendants won't have old letters to discover. Just a bunch of emails, texts and blog posts if some version of all this digital data survives into the future in some way.

Of course, I'll continue to look for more old letters and photos so if they are able to read these blogs in the future, at least they'll have that.

For more blog entries, visit my Blog Home Page or to check out the genealogy research about my specific family lines, go to my Haywood County Line Genealogy Website. You can read more about the Fowler family on their page of my website.

Fowler Photos...and Many Others Found

One of my favorite parts of genealogy research is the process of gathering, identifying and archiving family photos of my ancestors. I am fortunate to have hundreds of photos of my grandparents, multiple photos of most of my great-grandparents, a photo of ten of my second great-grandparents and a photo of six of my third great-grandparents.

Ruby Fowler Lovelace and Jim Lovelace

Until now, I had only one photo of my great-grandmother, Ruby Fowler Lovelace. It hung on my maternal grandparents, Guy and Virginia Lovelace's bedroom wall for as long as I can remember.

I've wished many times since I began researching my family tree that I had more photos of her and the Fowler side of the family.

Thanks to a distant cousin who contacted me after reading my blog, I finally do.

Photo/Jenny West

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Fowler Siblings

l to r:  Daisy Fowler Lovelace, Molly Fowler and Ruby Fowler Lovelace

Oliver Fowler in the front

Like me, Jenny West is a third great-granddaughter of Ruby's parents, Lewis and Sarah Patterson Fowler. Our great-grandparents were siblings.

Lewis M. Fowler was born 14 July 1852 around Finger, Tenn. in McNairy County to Oliver and Anna Malone Fowler. Oliver died at the young age of 32 when Louis was just six and his brother James was five. Anna then married Frances Callaway Robison, a widower who also had children and together they are said to have had six more.

In 1868 at the age of 19, Louis Fowler married Sarah E. Patterson who was 16. Together, they had nine children:

Lula M. Fowler
1873 - 1960
Married G.W. Parker
Children were Herbert, Jasper, Lucy, Jerline, Mattie, Blanche, Vary Elmore and John
Died in Lincoln, Tenn. 

Oliver Wilson Fowler (Jenny's great-grandfather)
12 Jan 1875 - 9 Jun 1951
Married Lucy Browder (died in 1917)
Married Lillie Dell Hudson
Children with Lucy were: Vassie Alleen, Rose Lee (Jenny's grandmother), Willie Oliver, and Otis Mason. Children with Lillie were Daulton, Odell and Aurthur.
Died in St. Francis, Ark. 

Mollie F. Fowler
Sep 1876 - 1931
Married S.W. Parker
Married John Henry Fowler
Possible Children were: Early May, William Richard, James H., Jim, Leander Doyle, Burt, Emma Lou, Jessee, Andrew Wayne, Addie Bell and Floyd. 

Thomas Monroe Fowler
26 May 1880 - 19 Nov 1937
Married to Mary
Children were: Mary, Elmer, Vera and Blanche 

Samuel Dalton Fowler
16 Jan. 1882 - 2 Oct 1913
Married Clyde Lorene Mann
Children were Jessie T. and William L.
Buried at Zion Baptist Church 

Ruby Fowler (My great-grandmother)
12 Aug 1887 - 29 Jan 1952
Married James "Jim" Luther Lovelace
Children were Ovid, Jack, Blanch, Homer, Guy (my grandfather), Otha, Hobert and Marie. Buried at Zion Baptist Church 

Daisy Fowler
Jun 1893 - Dec 1976
Married Walter Lee Lovelace (first cousin of Ruby's husband, Jim. Walter's father was Lynn Boyd Lovelace who was a brother of Jim's father, Charles B. Lovelace)
Children were Starley, Amelia, Walter Jr., Mildred Louise and Anna Elizabeth. 

Elender M. Fowler1884 - after 1900

Mary C. Fowler, born 1871 must have died as young child.

Jenny's grandmother, Rose Lee Fowler, kept these photos for many years and when Jenny became interested in genealogy, a cousin shared them with her. I am very grateful Jenny is sharing her family's photos with us. I have a few relatives who aren't online and I plan to mail them a copy to see if they see anyone they may recognize.

In this blog, I'm posting the photos that have been identified first.  The photos of people that need to be identified are posted last. Some of the photos were weathered so I cleaned them up a little.

Photo/Jenny West

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Ruby Fowler Lovelace

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Overlay of Ruby Fowler Lovelace, young and old

Although Jenny let me know this photo has "Ruby" written on the back, just to be certain, I took the photo of Ruby as an older woman and put it on top of the photo thought to be of her as a young woman and the features fit exactly. I have no doubt this is a photo of my second great-grandmother when she was a young woman.

.......

Photo/Jenny West

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Ruby Fowler Lovelace

This photo seems to really capture the way she must have looked in real life.

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Children of Jim and Ruby Fowler Lovelace at the Lovelace Family
Reunion in the late '70s

Standing: Guy, Marie, Ovid, Hobert and Jack Lovelace
Seated: Blanch Lovelace

Brother Otha died in 1961

This is a photo I took of my grandfather, Guy Lovelace, and his siblings back in the late '70s. You can really see the family resemblance between Ruby and her adult children. 

Ruby was born 12 Aug 1887 in Chester County, Tenn. She married James Luther "Jim" Lovelace on 28 Mar 1905.

Ruby's grandchildren called her "Grandmomma Ruby." Her youngest daughter, Marie, remembers Ruby as being very mild-mannered and never losing her temper or getting mad. She was always very worried and afraid during storms which may be where my grandfather Guy Lovelace, picked up his own anxiety during bad weather. 

Church records show Jim and Ruby joined Zion Baptist Church on August 18, 1918 at a revival "preached by Dr. Woolridge with music led by Brother Thomas." 

Their extended family was a big part of the lives of Ruby and Jim, with Jim’s parents, Charlie and Nancy Jane, living on the farm next door. Marie remembers Ruby preparing homemade moon pies for the frequent gatherings the Lovelace family would have. 

In later years, grandson Bill Lovelace remembered Ruby as being very sensitive and crying often. He remembers “Grandaddy Jim” getting angry with her and her responding by bursting out in tears. My mother remembers her being very kind but also "nervous." 

On 29 Jan 1952, when Ruby was 64, Jim called Marie to let her know that his wife was having problems with her heart so he had called Dr. Stewart. When Marie arrived at the house, she remembers Ruby was cooking pork tenderloin, fried potatoes and chocolate pies. At 3:00, Kate Smith came on the radio and Ruby told Marie and her sister Blanch, who had also come, that she was going to go lay down. About an hour later, Marie went to let her know she was leaving and Ruby had passed away in her sleep.

My maternal grandparents, Guy and Virginia Lovelace and their family were living in the house across the field from Ruby and Jim. My mother remembers playing next to the road with her brother Bobby when someone at Ruby’s house shouted for them to quickly get their father. 

My mother's brother, Bill Lovelace, remembers that the next day the family was holding Ruby's wake in her house so his father went to see her. Bill waited in the truck in the driveway of the house for Guy to return. When he did, Bill remembers his father leaning his head on the steering wheel and crying. 

It is the only time Bill remembers seeing his father cry. 

After Ruby’s death, Jim lived at home alone for awhile then he stayed with several of his children. 

Finally, he went to live with his son and daughter-in-law, Hobert and Carolyn Lovelace until his death from cancer in 1968, 16 years after Ruby had passed away. 

They are both buried at Zion Baptist Church in Haywood County.

.......

Photo/Jenny West

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Ruby Fowler's in-laws, Charles "Charlie" Buchanon
Lovelace and Nancy Jane Yelverton Lovelace

I recognized this photo as soon as I saw it because I got a copy a while back from my Aunt Marie Lovelace. You can read all about them, here. They are the parents of Ruby's husband, Jim. This is my ancestor who was written up in the Zion Baptist Church minutes in 1890 for allowing dancing in his house.

.......

Photo/Jenny West

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Eva Pearl Lovelace Patterson and Edward Mansfield Patterson

I had already gotten a copy of this photo from Joan of Bells, Tenn. who contacted me a few years ago. This is Eva Pearl Lovelace, (b. Feb 1889 in Haywood County) who was Joan’s grandmother and the sister of my great grandfather, Jim Lovelace. So Eva Pearl and Ruby were sisters-in-law. Eva Pearl married Edward Mansfield Patterson (b. Feb 1889 in Haywood County) on April 2, 1905 in Haywood County. Their children were Irene, Helen, Homer Edward, and Viola. They also had a son named Richard Hess who died at 18 months.

They lived and farmed near the home of Eva’s parents, Charlie and Nancy Jane Yelverton Lovelace, as did Ruby and Jim Lovelace.

You can read more about the photos Joan shared on this blog entry.

Because a few of these photos are of my ancestors, I have no doubt, many of the unidentified photos are as well.

.......

First, here are some photos of our mutual ancestors that Jenny had already identified.

Photo/Jenny West

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Ruby's brother, Wilson Fowler

Wilson was born in 1875 in McNairy County, Tenn. He first married Lucy Browder and they had four children: Vassie, Rose Lee, Willie and Otis. After Lucy died, he married Lillie Dell Hudson who had children of her own including Leona and Ira. Together, Wilson and Lilly had Daulton, Odell and Authur. Between 1910 and 1920 Wilson moved to St. Francis, Ark.

Wilson died 9 Jun 1951 and was buried in the Harris Chapel Cemetery in Wynne, Ark.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Rose Lee, Willie and Vassie Fowler

These are three of the children of Wilson Fowler with his first wife, Lucy. I assume the one on the left is Rose Lee Fowler.

Rose Lee was born in 1905. She married John Otto Montgomery in 1919 and they had five children including: John Clifford, James Everett, Paul Montgomery, John Otto, Jr. and Dorothy Lee. Rose Lee died 3 Mar 1977 in Parkin, Arkansas and was buried in the Hughes Cemetery in St. Francis County.

Rose Lee's son, Otto, is Jenny's father and lives in Marion, Ark. They are planning a research trip to Haywood County in the coming weeks and I know just the places to recommend.

Mrs. Rose Lee Montgomery Obituary
Mrs. Rose Lee Montgomery, aged 71, of Parkin died Thursday afternoon at crittenden Memorial Hospital in West Memphis. She had been in poor health for one year and in the hospital for the past two weeks.
She was born December 19, 1905, in Brownsville, Tenn., and was the daughter of Mrs. Lucy Browder Fowler and Wilson Fowler. She made her home in Parkin most of her life. She was a housewife and a member of the Gladen Baptist Church outside of Parkin. She married John Otto Montgomery in 1919 and he preceded her in death in 1942.
She leaves three sons, J. E. Montgomery of Parkin, Paul Montgomery of West Memphis, and Otto Montgomery of Marion; one daughter Dorothy Baldwin of Parkin; two brothers, Willie and Otis Fowler, both of Wynne; three half-brothers, Dalton Fowler of Wynne, Arthur Fowler of West Point, Miss., and Odel Fowler of Pine Bluff; one step-brother, Ira White of LeVesque; one stepsister, Mrs. Leona Crowder of Parkin; 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren
Funeral services will be at Stevens Funeral Home Chapel at 2 p. m. Saturday with Rev. Jack Thorn of Parkin officiating. Burial will follow in Hughes Cemetery. Source

Willie Fowler was born 31 Aug 1907 and married Doris Bostick in 1931. They had four children including Dorothy Willeen and Kathryn Marie. He died 11 Jul 1990.

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Vassie Fowler

Vassie Alleen Fowler was another daughter of Wilson Fowler. She was born 18 Aug 1903 and married  Granville Gracy in 1928. She also spent most of her life in Arkansas. Vassie died 15 Oct 1971 and was buried in the Forrest Park Cemetery in Forrest City, Ark.

Vassie Fowler Gracey Obituary, Oct. 1971

Funeral Services for Mrs. Vassie Gracey, 68, Of Hughes were held Saturday at Stevens Funeral Home in Forrest City. Burial followed in the Forrest City Cemetery in Forrest City. Mrs. Gracey was the sister of Willie Fowler and Otis Fowler, both of Wynne and Mrs. Rose Lee Montgomery of Parkin. Other survivors include three half brothers, Dalton Fowler of MS and O'Dell Fowler of Grady; a stepbrother, Ira White of Wynne and a step sister, Mrs. Leona Crowder of Parkin. Mrs. Gracey was born August 18, 1903 near Brownsville Tn. and was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Fowler.She was a housewife and a member of Gladden Baptist Church near Parkin. She had been making her home in Parkin with her sister, Mrs. Montgomery,since the death of her husband Granville Gracey, last August.She died in the Crittenden Hospital in West Memphis.
Funeral services for Mrs. Gracey were conducted by Rev. James Miller. Source

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Photo/Jenny West

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Lilly, Odell and Wilson Fowler 

Odell Fowler Obituary, January 26, 2005 

WHITE HALL -- Odell Fowler, 78, of White Hall, died Wednesday at John L. McClellan Veterans Hospital at Little Rock.
He was born Nov. 26, 1926, at Wynne, a son of the late W.O. Fowler and Lilllie Hudson Fowler.
He received his education in the Wynne School District.
He served in the Army during the Korean War.
He had been employed as a heavy equipment operator at the Pine Bluff Arsenal prior to his retirement.
He attended the West 28th Avenue Church of Christ at Pine Bluff.
He was also preceded in death by his wife, Clarice Payne Fowler, who died Feb. 25, 2003; one son, Preston Darnell Fowler; four brothers, Willie Fowler, Otis Fowler, Arthur Fowler and Ira White; one sister, Leona Crowder; and one grandchild.
Survivors include two sons, Sterling Odell Fowler and Lenny Fowler, both of Pine Bluff; two daughters, Reba Carter of White Hall and Sue Carrow of Little Rock; one brother, Dalton Fowler of Wynne; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. today in Walnut Lake Cemetery at Dumas with Dennis Carrow officiating. Burial will be by Cranford Funeral Home at White Hall.

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Here are some photos of ancestors for whom we need to determine identities. These could be Fowlers, Pattersons, Browders or others. The Fowler family tended to have dark hair and eyes so I am posting them first.

Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified boy

This young man looks a lot like he could belong to my second great-grandparents, Charlie B. and Nancy Jane Yelverton Lovelace. He looks a little like both of them and is dressed similarly.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified baby

This photo was taken at the Clark Photography Studio in Brownsville. It looks very much like other photos I've seen of my ancestors from around the time my grandparents were babies.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified woman and little girl

This woman and little girl are in a setting and in clothing similar to other Haywood County family photos from this period. 

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified girl

She looks like she could fit into the same family as the woman above. This is one of my favorites of all the unidentified photos. 

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified children

These children are dressed a little more uptown than my Fowler/Lovelace ancestors so they may be from one of the other families mentioned. They also look like they live in a less rural setting than my kinfolk.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified children

These girls have store-bought dolls which I've not seen in any photos of my Haywood County ancestors.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified woman

A school teacher perhaps? Although the book could just be a photographer's prop, she does have that school teacher mojo going on.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified woman in Corinth, Miss photo studio

This photo contains a clue. This lady was in a Corinth, Miss. studio having her photo taken. 

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified boy in studio

Here's another studio photo of a young man. This one includes his gun and his dog. 

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified family

This young couple saved their hard-earned money, went to the studio for what was possibly their first family photo and their kids would. not. be. still. I wonder how many times they tried. That one kid looks like an alien. The father appears to be counting the seconds until he can get out of there.

This family is in a similar setting and is wearing the style of clothing I am used to seeing in the photos of my Haywood County ancestors in this time period.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified man

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Unidentified man

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Unidentified family

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Unidentified man

This is the first of the photos of people who have unusually light-colored eyes. I assume they were blue. 

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified man in bow tie

Another of the blue-eyed people, this photo could have been taken at the same time as the one above making these two brothers? ...or not.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified couple

Possibly a sister of the two people above and her husband? That's a huge leap to make but she does have very light blue eyes, and again it's in a similar setting.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified couple

The man in this photo looks very similar to the one above and the setting and lighting is exactly the same. They were brothers, perhaps?

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified man

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified boy

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Unidentified children

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Photo/Jenny West

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Unidentified boy in sailor suit on driveway

One of the most unique of the unidentified photos, this boy looks like he would be more at home on a city sidewalk in Chicago than a muddy driveway in front of a wooded clapboard house in the country.

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Photo/Jenny West

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Sawmill

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If you're able to identify any of the people in these photos, please let me know. If we can put any more names to faces, I'll post the information here on this page.

For more blog entries, visit my Blog Home Page or to check out the genealogy research about my specific family lines, go to my Haywood County Line Genealogy Website. You can read more about the Fowler family on their page of my website.