Find Your Dead

Scholefield Family Tree

So, I’m working along, making connections and adding data to this family line, and as I look at the next names from the lawsuit, I hit some difficulties. At this point, I have to think back to the Genealogical Proof Standard and determine how to deal with conflicting information. I can’t just ignore it because it may be the one thing that shows that a connection to another generation is incorrect.

From the lawsuit, there are a few more Moores I have not placed: Michael Moore and his wife Maria and Archibald Dunlap Moore and his wife Anna Maria.¹

A Google search for “Archibald Dunlap Moore” turns up some family trees that report his parents as Michael Moore and Jane Dunlap.² Archibald’s brother is reported as Michael Moore who married Maria Sherman. Could these two brothers be the last Moores I am looking for?

Trinity’s Parish Register search concurs that Archibald Dunlap Moore was born to Michael and Jane Moore on 14 May and was baptized on 7 Jun 1801.³ The site also confirms additional data from the tree.

However, my problem arises when the tree states that Archibald Dunlap Moore had two wives: Sarah P. Moore who he married in 1839 and Catherine Fleming Fogarty who he married about 1852. Catherine lived until 1892. So it appears that this Archibald wasn’t married to Anna Maria at the time of the lawsuit!

A search of the 1850 Census only returns one Archibald Moore who was born in New York: The son of Michael and Maria Sherman Moore who was born in 1834. Checking for any possibles who had alternate spellings or initials doesn’t help either. Searching for Ann Moores in NYC reveals none married to an Archibald. But, it does turn up one Ann with a younger Ann (lunatic), Mary (age 13), and Catherine Folarty in her home.⁴

In 1860, I find the family as mentioned on the family tree sites. Archibald is living with his wife Catherine and their children Archibald (age 5) and Jane (age 7).⁵

Because there is no specific date, I wonder if the date for Archibald’s marriage to Catherine was guessed at. It is possible that he was married to another woman who gave birth to his children and then he married Catherine. If I really think outside the box, I could make up even weirder stories! Maybe the 1850 Ann (who was born about 1802) was actually an error. Was that Archibald? If so, it appears that his future wife could have been living with the family. Maybe he did marry Catherine about 1852, but since he was in PA, he wasn’t in touch with his brother and the brother didn’t know that Anna Maria was dead? And I suppose that it could even be possible that the lawsuit was begun years before the notice was posted.

Of course, I always need evidence to support any final tree I build or all this is just a flight of fancy. Based on the one name, is there enough to discount this family as being a match to the lawsuit?

The father of Archibald Dunlap Moore who married Catherine Fogarty is reported to be Michael Moore who was born in 1753 and died in 1841.² This would make him of an age to be the sibling of Jacob Moore and therefore the son of Michael and Hannah Moore. If we ignore (or at least qualify the findings) it seems that Michael Moore and Maria Sherman sued his brother Archibald and all of his first cousins — likely over an estate left by Michael and Hannah Moore.

If I weren’t restricted to our self-imposed guidelines, I’d attempt to get my hands on a copy of that lawsuit. It would likely clarify the situation beyond a doubt.

1. See post dated 22 May 2010.
2. Brother Jordan Baxter, S.T., Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Site, Jordan Baxter Family Home Page (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/x/Brother-jordan-Baxter-st/index.html : accessed 25 Jun 2010), “User Home Page Genealogy Report: Descendants of Father of Michael Moore,” Generation No. 2.
3. Trinity Church, “Parish Registers,” database, Trinity Wall Street (http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers : accessed 24 Jun 2010), entry for Archibald Dunlap Moore, baptized 23 Jul 1824.
4. 1850 U.S. census, New York County, New York population schedule, New York, Ward 9, p. 165B, dwelling 1284, family 2187, Household of Ann Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 543.
5. 1860 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania population schedule, Philadelphia, Ward 15, p. 467, dwelling 186, family 203, Household of Arch^d D. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 1165.

[top]

Scholefield Family Tree

It turns out that this group REALLY wanted to keep the Armour name alive. What do you do when your mother is an Armour, you have the middle name Armour, one of your brothers has the middle name Armour, and your brother married an Armour? Well, you marry an Armour too!

However, I had to do a little digging to discover this fact. Searching for Hester Moore turns up this family:
John A. Moore, age 54, Merchant, NY¹
Hester A. Moore, age 52, NY
Caroline Williard, age 25, NY
Joseph C. Williard, age 30, Commission Mercht, Vermont
Frederick R. Moore, age 20, NY
Catherine S. Moore, age 19, NY
Joseph R. S. Moore, age 12, NY
Julia T. Moore, age 10, NY
Mary Cunningham, age 20, Ireland
Ellen Lee, age 30, Ireland

So, this is the family of the last brother — John Armour born in 1796. He seems to have been enumerated in two places that year (once at his brother James’s home). Between 1850 and the time of the lawsuit, John appears to have died because the suit names his children and his wife. We can assume that Caroline is a daughter who married a Williard.

We could go back to the IGI in order to verify some actual dates for this family. Or, a web search for “trinity church new york” will lead you to the church’s page. They provide online transcriptions of their registers and burials in their two churchyards: www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers. Note that the name fields need to be as exact as possible. John A. Moore’s 1818 marriage to Hester Ann Armour² only appears if you put “John A.” in the search box–no the similar names option doesn’t help. Lesson: Try all variations. In this case, the IGI might be easier to search, but the church’s site has the benefit of providing baptismal records with sponsors and minister’s names on marriages.

I’ll be gathering the exact dates to appear in my final report.

1. 1850 U.S. census, New York County, New York population schedule, New York, Ward 5, p. 128-129 (handwritten), 64B-65A (stamped), dwelling 570, family 920, Household of John A. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 537.
2. Trinity Church, “Parish Registers,” database, Trinity Wall Street (http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers : accessed 24 Jun 2010), entry for John A. Moore and Hester Ann Armour, married 25 Apr 1818.

[top]

Scholefield Family Tree

I suspect that the Moore Lawsuit¹ is between family members. So now I need to determine how those family members are related to the Moore family I am tracing and whether the information leads me to an additional generation.

The first place to look for these people is the 1850 Census. Because they were all alive in 1856-1857, they should be locatable. I tried several search methods – including spray and pray (put in a term and hope that one of the scattered results will match). In this case, I could narrow down my initial search to people with the name who were born in New York or lived in New York City (or nearby).

I think this is one of the couples and their household (they popped right up with a search using his middle initial and birthplace):
James A. Moore, age 61, White Seed Manufacturer, NY ²
Maria S. Moore, age 56, NY
Maria Armour, age 80, NY
John A. Armour, age 54, White Seed Manufacturer, NY
Sarah Ann Castle, age 26, NY
Maria M. Castle, age 8, NY
John A. Moore, age 25, none, NY
DeSa? M. Moore (male), age 23, Lawyer, NY
Also in the home? (I suspect these are other families): Marcus F. Hodges, age 26, Merchant; Sophia A. Hodges, age 26; James M. Hodges, age 6; William M. Hodges, age 4; Annie Hodges, age 4/12; Louisa Gibbons, age 20; Henry M. Dodge, age 9; Catharine C. Dodge, age 6; Nancy Mayer, age 25; Catharine Johnson, age 25; Alexander Thompson, age 20, Laborer; Mary Batten, age 20; Mary Ann Fleming, age 20.

This family is quite exciting because of the matching initials and the connection to an Armour family!

I immediately hopped over to FamilySearch.org to see if I can use James’s date of birth to discover more specifics about this family group. IGI returns a hit for a John Armour Moore and a batch search turns up the following family:

Jacob Moore and Ann had the following children christened at Trinity Church
James Armour Moore, b. 23 Nov 1786, chr. 3 Jan 1787³
Michael Moore, chr. 19 Jul 1789 (the one we are looking for?)
Jacob Moore, b. 30 Oct 1791, chr. 20 Nov 1791
John Armour Moore, b. 2 Aug 1796, chr. 28 Aug 1796

A search for Maria Armour (after all, it appeared that the 80 year old mother-in-law was living with James and Maria) returns their marriage. I went out on a limb and guessed that there was a relationship, but remember to not take something like this as a fact until you prove it!

James A. Moore and Maria “Armar” married 13 Apr 1811 at Trinity Church.⁴

After all this, it appears that the family must have had a close tie with the Armour family for several generations. James was given the middle name of Armour and then married an Armour girl. His nephew, who is in the direct line which we are tracing, also appears to have carried the name. I really want to add all these people into the tree, but I do want to double check to make sure that there is nothing that would contradict my thoughts that this is the correct family (and one more generation to be added to the tree).

Next step – check out the other siblings to attempt to verify the familial relationships.

1. See post dated 22 May 2010.
2. 1850 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey population schedule, Belleville, p. 115B, dwelling 58, family 67, Household of James A. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 449.
3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “International Genealogical Index,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 23 May 2010), North America Region, entry for James Armour Moore, christened 3 Jan 1787, New York, New York, New York; citing FHL microfilm 1,002,776, item 6 (Trinity Church Parish, New York, New York, New York computer printout; births or christenings, 1749-1809), batch no. C510591. (Use the batch number to verify related records.)
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “International Genealogical Index,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 23 May 2010), North America Region, entry for James A. Moore and Maria Armar, married 13 Apr 1811, New York, New York, New York; citing FHL microfilm 0,882,993, item 1 (Trinity Church Parish, New York, New York, New York computer printout; marriages, 1746-1861), batch no. M510591.

[top]

Scholefield Family Tree

I’ve found John in 1810! He was misindexed as John Harry. This is understandable because the page is damaged; and therefore, the person creating the index couldn’t have known his real name. I find it now when I go back and recheck the households on the pages near Benjamin and William.

As you can see, the first 3 letters of the last name are definitely HAW.

The family even fits as it is made up of 5 people: John himself, Lena his wife, his sons William and Horace, and his daughter Susanna. The ages are a tad off, but censuses are not always the most accurate when reporting ages.

John Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 10-15, 1 aged 16-25, 1 aged 45+; Females, 1 aged 10-15, 1 aged 45+; 1 other free person¹

The most interesting thing is that the older man who had been in the home in 1800 and appeared to be the same man in 1820 is not present. Was this John Senior? Did he die between 1800 and 1810? Or did he go to live with another family member (not the two other sons!).

1. 1810 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, Rye, p. 1165, line 1, John Haw[kins]; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M252, roll 37.

[top]

Scholefield Family Tree

The censuses I located in the last post lead me to believe that I have a family group.

I know this is the correct John Hawkins because he is near his daughter Susan Moore and her husband in 1830 and 1820. In 1810, John appears to have been missed or he was living somewhere else. From 1820 to 1800 there are two men, Benjamin and William, who are of an age to be siblings of John. In 1800 there is a man in John’s home who could be his father.

In 1790 there are two Johns. One is noted as “Senr” the other as “Junr.” Many might expect that this immediately indicates that one is the father of the other. However, at the time of this census, the suffix could indicate simply that one is the elder and the other younger. They could be related — or not. They could be uncle and nephew, cousins, or as I propose, father and son. The elder John has in his home two men who are of an age to be Benjamin and William.

The censuses also tell me more about John’s family. I know three of his children, but it turns out that he may have had more.

In the 1820 census, there is a female who is of an age to be Susanna Moore (Female A). She was married earlier in the year so it is possible that she was enumerated twice. By 1830, William is living with his father after his marriage. Based on these numbers, John and Lena possibly had at least 7 children; 3 boys and 4 girls. In 1840, there is a Female (B) who is of an age to be one of the three daughters but could also be another relative, hired help, or a friend.

[top]

Scholefield Family Tree

Since I have hit previously completed research for the Dusenburys and Ogdens, it is time to step back down and see about the Hawkins family. (Remember though that if I were working this for my own family, I’d be off gathering and verifying the older family lines. For this project I will simply provide the links.)

I’ve found a record that reveals that John Hawkins likely died in 1844 in Port Chester, Westchester, New York. Also, most of the Hawkins Family were associated with a church in Rye, Westchester, New York. A quick check into Port Chester reveals that it is a village within the town of Rye. Therefore, the first place to start looking will be the censuses for Westchester County.

Unfortunately the censuses before 1850 do not provide the names of household members but indicate instead the ages of the persons in the home. This is helpful if you are attempting to locate a family that had a child of a specific age in the home, at least allowing you to rule out most families in your search. In this case, I knew that I’d have to trace the Hawkins family beginning in 1840 and moving back from there. By that time, the children I knew about would have been of an age to have set up households of their own and Lenah died in 1833 so I would expect to see John alone if he still had a home of his own. If he was in the home of one of his children, he’d only be a hashmark.

He had not yet moved in with one of his children though! (I had to find him in 1840 using only his last name and a place because of how his first name was recorded. In 1830 he was indexed as “Jhn Hais Rms” so I found him by locating the nearby Hawkins men.) And pushing back through the years revealed several interesting possible family members nearby.

---

1840
Jno Hawkins, Males: 2 aged 5-10, 1 aged 10-15, 1 aged 60-70; Females: 1 aged 15-20, 1 aged 30-40, 1 aged 50-60. ¹
1830
John Hawkins, Males: 2 aged under 5, 1 aged 5-10, 1 aged 20-30, 1 aged 60-70; Females: 1 aged 20-30, 1 aged 60-70 ²
Susan D More, Males: 1 aged under 5, 3 aged 5-10, 4 aged 20-30, 2 aged 50-60, 1 aged 70-80; Females: 3 aged 20-30, 1 aged 30-40, 1 aged 50-60
William Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 50-60; Females: 1 aged 30-40, 1 aged 40-50
1820
Benjamin Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 45+; Females: 1 aged under 10, 1 aged 10-16, 2 aged 16-26, 1 aged 26-45; 1 person in Manufactures
John Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 16-18, 1 aged 16-26, 2 aged 45+; Females: 1 aged 45+; 1 free colored male under 14; 1 free colored female 14-26 ³
Michael More, Males: 1 aged 10-16, 1 aged 26-45; Females: 1 aged 16-26, 1 aged 45+; 1 person in Agriculture; 1 free colored female 26-45
William Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 26-45; Females: 2 aged 26-45, 1 aged 45+; 1 person in Agriculture; 1 free colored female 14-26
1810
Benjamin Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 26-44; Females: 2 under 10, 1 aged 10-15, 1 aged 26-44⁴
William Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 26-44; Females: 1 aged 26-44, 1 aged 45+
1800
Benjamin Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 26-45; Females: 1 under 10, 1 16-26
William Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 26-45; Females: 1 aged 16-26; 1 free colored person
John Hawkins, Males: 1 under 10, 1 aged 26-45, 1 aged 45+; Females: 1 under 10, 1 aged 10-16, 1 aged 26-45; 1 free colored person⁵
1790
John Hawkins Senr, 3 males over 16, 2 females, 1 slave
John Hawkins Junr, 1 male over 16, 2 males under 16, 4 females⁶

1. 1840 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, Rye, p. 83, line 1, Jno Hawkins; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M704, roll 352.
2. 1830 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, Rye, p. 103, line 16, John Hawkins; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M19, roll 112.
3. 1820 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York population schedule, Rye, p. 378, line 20, John Hawkins; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M33, roll 75.
4. 1810 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, Rye, p. 1164, line 16, Benjamin Hawkins; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M252, roll 37.
5. 1800 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, Rye town, p. 10, line 20, John Hawkins; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M32, roll 27.
6. 1790 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, p. 156, line 11, John Hawkins Junr; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M637, roll 6.

[top]

Innis Family Tree

Liva Caldonia Innis was born 15 Jan 1883 in Clinton County, Kentucky and died 22 Oct 1956 in Whitewright, Grayson, Texas.¹ Liva was married to Alonzo Huston Taylor and was the easiest of the children to locate. Her death record was the first one that came up when I searched for Thomas Innis and she is the Mrs. L. [Lon] H. Taylor who was the informant on her mother’s death certificate.

Her family as I have been able to put it together:

Alonzo Huston Taylor (1879-1936),²
Liva Caldonia Innis Taylor (1883-1956),
William Douglas Taylor (1898-1949),³
Hattie May Taylor Roller (1900-1931),⁴
Ocie Taylor Puryear (1903-1925),
Irene Taylor Whisenhunt (1906-1976),⁵
John Hamilton Taylor (1909-1985).⁶

Okay – I did it – I looked at a family tree because of Ocie. I couldn’t find anything except that Ancestry tree to help me identify a marriage or a date of death. It is important to note here that the information in those trees was not sourced – I found no outside online information that verifies that death date. I checked all the cemeteries in Bryan County and found no grave for Ocie.

In the course of that I noticed looking at the family trees for this family, I found many of the trees for Liva showed an “Infant” born and died 1904. According to the 1910 census Liva listed 5 children born and 5 children living all of whom are accounted for.⁷

I won’t directly pursue these lines any further as I have enough information concerning the children of Thomas H. Innis and Elizabeth N. Davis. Also going any further would bring us into the living generation and our focus is ancestral. When I begin work in Clinton County, Kentucky while looking at the children of John H. and Nancy Innis, I will still keep my eye out for any birth, death, or marriage records that might apply to this generation and I will update them as needed.

1. Texas, death certificate no. 58736 (22 Oct 1956), Liva Caldonia [Innis] Taylor; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
2. Texas, death certificate no. 73114 (9 Nov 1936), Alonzo Taylor; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 20 Jan 2010).
3. “Texas Death Index, 1903-2000,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010), William D. Taylor, 4 Nov 1949, Cert. #53355.
4. Texas, death certificate no. 7925 (17 Feb 1931), Hattie May Roller; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 20 Jan 2010).
5. 1910 U.S. census, Grayson County, Texas population schedule, Justice Precinct 3, enumeration district (ED) 90, p. 3A, dwelling 45, family 46, L. C. Taylor; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1557.
6. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010), John Taylor, SSN 455-18-5543.
7. 1910 U.S. census, Grayson County, Texas population schedule, Justice Precinct 3, enumeration district (ED) 90, p. 3A, dwelling 45, family 46, L. C. Taylor; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1557.

[top]

Innis Family Tree

Tabitha Alice Innis was born 15 Apr 1874 in Clinton County, Kentucky and died 13 April 1947 in Sherman, Grayson Co., Texas.¹ She was married to Daniel Webster Parrigin in about 1892 – yes he was the brother of William G. Parrigin. So Minerva and Tabitha married the Parrigin brothers and Louisa and Mary married the Shelley brothers.

The family as I have been able to put it together:

Daniel W. Parrigin (1870-1931),²
Tabitha Alice Innis Parrigin (1874-1947),
Clifford Parrigin (1893-1895),
Vertol Parrigin (1896-1971),³
Leon E. Parrigin (1898-1913),
Dorothy Parrigin (1919-).

On the 1900 Census Tabitha lists 3 children born with 2 children living.⁴ I found Clifford when I searched the Oak Hill Cemetery listed on Daniel’s death certificate. There I found Daniel, Alice, Clifford, Leon, Vertol and Vertol’s wife Lela.⁵ I’d be willing to bet that daughter Dorothy is in the cemetery somewhere, but I haven’t located a marriage record for her. I also found no death record for Clifford or Leon.

1. Texas, death certificate no. 16530 (13 Apr 1947), Tabitha Alice [Ennis] Parrigin; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
2. Texas, death certificate no. 18523 (16 Apr 1931), Vertol. Parrigin; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 20 Jan 2010).
3. Texas, death certificate no. 83675 (26 Nov 1971), Dan W. Parrigin; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 20 Jan 2010).
4. 1900 U.S. census, Fannin County, Texas population schedule, Justice Precinct 3, enumeration district (ED) 70, p. 3A, dwelling 43, family 43, Alice T. Parrigan; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1633.
5. Fannin County TxGenWeb Project, “Oak Hill Cemetery,” database (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txfannin/ceme-oakhill.html : accessed 20 Jan 2010), Parrigin Family Plot.

[top]

Innis Family Tree

John H. Innis was born 6 Sep 1872 in Clinton County, Kentucky, and died 13 Nov 1918 in Yowell, Dallas, Texas.¹ His death certificate indicates he is buried in Shiloh Cemetery in Yowell. He appears to have been married twice, first to Eliza E. (Unknown) who died in 1904 based on a cemetery listing.² The second marriage was to Maye in about 1905. There does not appear to have been any children from either marriage.

While his father is listed as John and there is no mother listed, all the other material lines up. I have made a note of the name discrepancy in my notes and have listed this as probable in my conclusions. This is the weakest documented child of Thomas H. and Elizabeth.

1. Texas, death certificate no. 48857 (13 Nov 1918), John H. Innis; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 Jan 2010).
2. Cemeteries of Texas Project, “Old Shiloh Cemetery,” database, Cemeteries of Delta County Texas (http://www.cemeteries-of-tx.com/Etx/Delta/cemetery/oldshiloh.htm : accessed 20 Jan 2010), Innis Plot.

[top]

Innis Family Tree

Mary Tennessee Innis is the third child of Thomas H. Innis and Elizabeth N. Davis. She was born about 1869 in Clinton County, Kentucky and was married to James Wilkerson Shelley. James W. was the younger brother of Louisa’s husband Guian Almerine Shelley. James lists himself as widowed on the 1930 census and he died in 1941. His death certificate lists his place of burial as Randolph Cemetery in Fannin County,¹ but none of the posted records for that cemetery list either James or Mary Tennessee. I finally located Mary using the search for parents of Ennis and Davis. The name on her death certificate is Mrs. J. W. Shelley. Her death certificate states she was born 22 July 1867 and died 29 Jan 1926.² The death certificate index lists simply J. W. Shelley, but the image reflects “Mrs. J. W. Shelley.” Without the added information of the parents, I could easily have ignored the record.

The family as I have been able to put it together:

James Wilkerson Shelley (1857-1941),
Mary Tennessee Innis Shelley (1867-1926),
Eula J. Shelley (1885-1953) never married,³
Thomas Russell Shelley (1886-1952),⁴
Timothy P. Shelley (1888-1965),⁵
Edward Martin Shelley (1890-1973),⁶
Decatur D. Shelley (1895-1974),⁷
William D. Shelly (1899-),
Dolan Shelley (1905-),
Evelyn Shelley Lewis (1907-1992).⁸

There is also an unknown child who was born and died between census records. On the 1900 census Mary lists 7 children born and 6 living.⁹ My best guess is a child born in Texas, between Decatur (b.1895) and William (b.1899), but I have found no other record of the child.

I have not yet been unable to locate any records for Dolan Shelley that would indicate a marriage or death.

1. Texas, death certificate no. 50159 (8 Nov1941), James Wilkerson Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
2. Texas, death certificate no. 1562 (29 Jun 1926), Mrs. J. W. Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 20 Jan 2010).
3. Texas, death certificate no. 2204 (1953), Eula J. Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Death, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
4. Texas, death certificate no. 2204 (1953), Eula J. Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Death, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
5. Texas, death certificate no. 2204 (1953), Eula J. Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Death, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
6. Texas, death certificate no. 92437 (6 Dec 1973), Edward Martin Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 Jan 2010).
7. Texas, death certificate no. 92437 (6 Dec 1973), Edward Martin Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 Jan 2010).
8. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 20 Feb 2010), Evelyn Lewis, Dec 1992.
9. 1900 U.S. census, Fannin County, Texas population schedule, Justice Precinct 3, enumeration district (ED) 70, p. 2B, dwelling 29, family 29, Mary T. Shelley; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1633.

[top]