Find Your Dead

Innis Family Tree

My first search was in Ancestry and simply for John Ennis (the spelling from the 1850-1860 census) to see if I could follow both John and his son John, who was born about 1824. Amazingly, one of the records that came up was a death record for John W. Ennis from the Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953.¹ The record lists his parents as John and N. Ennis. He died 7 Aug 1853 at the age of 28 in Warren, Kentucky. It also lists his place of birth as Warren, Kentucky, but I can almost ignore that – after all who would have reported these deaths? The thing that lends real weight to this entry is the information about his parents. If it just said John Ennis I would probably have moved on, but it’s John and N. Ennis which certainly narrows that down. He died a day ahead of his son Henry, who was born about 1850. Henry’s parents are listed as John and Rebecca Ennis.²

I believe that this John W. is the oldest son of John H. and Nancy Innis who was born about 1825. This is the John that I was questioning on the 1850 census who was indexed as John R.K..

I got very excited by Ancestry’s collection of Kentucky Births, 1852-1910 and Death Records 1852-1953, until I realized that Morgan and Clinton County were not part of the returns included in the database. I also had little luck in the Marriage Records – it’s all a conspiracy against me.

Actually, it’s time for a little history work Clinton County. A Google search for Clinton County Kentucky Genealogy took me to MyKentuckyGenealogy which has history and information on each of the Kentucky counties. According to their site for Clinton County, Most records were lost in a courthouse fire in 1864. Another fire in 1980 destroyed some records.”

However, it appears that will and probate materials exist from 1863.

According to the same site for Morgan County, “Courthouse records were lost twice: in Oct 1862 and in 1925.” Although it looks like land and marriage records are available from 1823 and probate records from 1866.

1. Warren County, Kentucky, John W. Ennis, 7 Aug 1853; digital image, The Generations Network, Inc., “Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953,” Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com: 24 Jan 2010).
2. Warren County, Kentucky, Henry Ennis, 8 Aug 1853; digital image, The Generations Network, Inc., “Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953,” Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com: 24 Jan 2010).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Innis Family Tree

A little work on Minerva reveals that her full name is Minerva Catherine and she married William Guyan Parrigin. Her children are established by the census records and then her full name is established through the use of her children’s death certificates. Daughter Tommie Alta Parrigin Howlett’s death certificate listed her mother as Minerva C. Innis and father as William Guyan Parrigin.¹ Son William H. Parrigin’s death certificate lists his mother as Catherine Innis,² which is probably the name she went by. I believe they are the same woman.

One online source has the date of marriage as 12 Jun 1890 in Clinton County, Kentucky, but I have not found a document to support that yet. While I found a death certificate for William Guyan Parrigin, I have not found a certificate for Minerva Catherine yet. I did not find a death date on any of the materials on Ancestry or other online sources. However a search of Caddo Mills cemeteries (burial information from William G. Parrigin’s death certificate) turned up an interment list for the Caddo Mills IOOF Cemetery in Hunt County Texas. Minerva C. Parrigin is listed with a death date of 14 Sep 1914 and is buried next to husband William G. in Section 4, Block 1, Row 5, Lot 14.³ Perhaps she did not die in Texas. I posted their memorials to Find A Grave and requested photos of their stones. A volunteer has posted the tombstone photo.

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

William Guyan Parrigin (1865-1918)⁴
Minerva Catherine Innis (1866- 1914)
Alberta Alice Parrigin Ball (1891-1984)
Tommie Alta Parrigin Howlett (1893-1965)
Lexie E. Parrigin Dickenson (1896-1984)
William Herman Parrigin (1900-1971)

1.Texas, death certificate no. 53397 (30 Aug 1965), Tommie Alta [Parrigin] Howlett; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 Jan 2010).
2. Texas, death certificate no. 16491 (24 Feb 1971), William H. Parrigin; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 Jan 2010).
3. The Hunt County, Texas, TXGenWeb Project, IOOF Cemetery, Caddo Mills (http://www.txgenweb6.org/txhunt/caddocem.html : accessed 19 Jan 2010), Minerva C. Parrigin.
4. Texas, death certificate no. 23054 (4 Jun 1918), Dr. William G. Parrigin; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 Jan 2010).

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Innis Family Tree

Well the initial visit to the Texas Death Records on FamilySearch was great, but now I have to go check those names out and see if I can hammer down some information. I’m going to look specifically at the children of Thomas H. Innis (siblings of Thomas B.) to see if I can sort out the families.

I did a search for Louisa Shelley (based on her death record) and found her in 1880 in Clinton County, Kentucky at age 15, married to Guyan A. Shelley with a daughter named Izora.¹ 1900 and 1910 finds her in Delta County, Texas married to G.A./Guion A. Shelley born October 1854 in Kentucky. In 1920 they are in Hempstead County, Arkansas, but when Louisa dies of apoplexy in Grayson County Texas, in 1929 she is listed as a widow and the death is reported by J. B. Shelley.²

According to her death certificate, Louisa is buried in the Randolph Cemetery in Randolph, Texas. She is not listed in the cemetery indexes I have found or on Find A Grave, but it could just be that she has no grave marker. Her husband is not listed in the Texas Death Records or in the Randolph Cemetery. There is a Rootsweb post that states Guian Almerine Shelley, died in Nevada Co. (California?) on 10 May 1929. I have contacted the poster and asked for more information – just to wrap up the loose ends, but no response yet.

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

Guian Almerine Shelley (1854- bef. 1929)
Louisa Christine Innis Shelley (1864-1929)
Izora E. Shelley (1880-)
James K. Shelley (1881-)
Lela J. Shelley Williams (1994-1917)³
Daniel Goodson Shelley (1886-1936)⁴
Minerva Lee Shelley Davlin (1891-1952)⁵
Febbie May Shelley Blount (1893-1978)⁶
Nova B.Shelley Owens (1895-1970)⁷
John Byron Shelley (1897-1963)⁸
Georgia Frogge Shelley Stewart Slaton(1901-1976)⁹
Zera V. Shelley Dillard (1903-1929)¹⁰

The only record I found of Izora Shelley was on the 1880 census, but she could have been married and had children by the 1900 census. So far I have found no records relating to her, but I have not spent time researching in Clinton Co., Kentucky yet.

Sometimes it is a very circuitous route to find the married names of daughters. While looking for records with a mother’s last name of Shelley/Shelly I found a death record for Patsy Jean Blunt from 11 Oct 1933 listing a mother of Febby Shelly and a father of Buster Blunt from Delta County.¹¹ In the census records I located a 1920 census record from Delta County for Febba Blunt with a husband of William A. Blunt born about 1888.¹² In 1930 the census record was William A. Blount with Febbins M.¹³ I finally found her as in the Social Security Death Index as May Blount born 3 Feb 1893, died Mar 1978, Commerce, Hunt, Texas.¹

Georgia’s death certificate was found by searching with a variation of her mother’s name Liza Ennis.¹⁵

When working with searches like this always try the mother’s maiden and married name. Keep in mind that the informant may not know any of the family names.

1. 1880 U.S. census, Clinton County, Kentucky population schedule, Neathery and Shelly, enumeration district (ED) 29, p. 622, dwelling 43, family 43, Louisa C. Shelley; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 410.
2. Texas, death certificate no. 44673 (28 Sep 1929), Louise Christine [Innis] Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
3. Texas, death certificate no. 19478 (28 Jul 1917), Lela [Shelley] Williams; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
4. Texas, death certificate no. 14602 (30 Mar 1936), Daniel Goodson Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
5. Texas, death certificate no. 14602 (30 Mar 1936), Daniel Goodson Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
6. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010), May Blount, SSN 455-32-9594.
7. Texas, death certificate no. 20335 (16 Mar 1970), Nova B. [Shelley] Owens; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org).
8. Texas, death certificate no. 08849 (9 Feb 1963), John Byron Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).
9. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010), Georgia Slaton, SSN 458-12-3118.
10. “Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950,” database, Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010), Zera Ved Dillard, 24 Apr 1929, Hempstead; Arkansas Genealogical Society.
11. Texas, death certificate no. 45087 (11 Oct 1933), Patsy Jean Blunt; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
12. 1920 U.S. census, Delta County, Texas population schedule, Justice Precinct 2, enumeration district (ED) 49, p. 15B, dwelling 250, family 250, Febba M. Blunt; digital images, Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 1795.
13. “Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950,” database, Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jan 2010), Zera Ved Dillard, 24 Apr 1929, Hempstead; Arkansas Genealogical Society.
14. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com:accessed 19 Jan 2010) May Blount, SSN 455-32-9594.
15. Texas, death certificate no. 96321 (22 November 1976), Georgia Slaton; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 20 Jan 2010).

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Innis Family Tree

While I’m here I’m going to have a look for the rest of the family. I had to search for Elizabeth using her birth date and finally found her indexed as Elizabeth Temis. Her last name on the certificate is pretty messy, but we now have the following information:

Elizabeth Innis, born 26 May 1843, TN, died 13 Feb 1930 Whitewright, Grayson, TX, father: John Davis, mother: unknown, informant Mrs. L. H. Taylor, buried Randolph Cemetery.¹ A mother would have been nice, but I’ll take a father to start!

Chasing the children proved to both easy and frustrating all at once.

Louisa Christine Shelley, born 10 Sep 1864 KY, died 28 Sep 1929 Bells, Grayson, TX parents T.H. Ennis & Elizabeth Dories, informant J. B. Shelley, buried Randolph Cemetery.²

Tabitha Alice Parrigin, b.15 Apr 1874, Clinton Co. KY, d. 13 Apr 1947 Sherman, Grayson, TX, parents Tom Ennis & Elizabeth Davis, informant Virtel Parigin, buried Whitewright TX.³

John H. Innis, b. 6 Sep 1872, KY, d. 13 Nov 1918 Yowell, Dallas, TX, Father John Innis, KY, informant Mr. J.H. Innis, buried Shiloh Cemetery.⁴ While this certificate lists a father of John, I’m fairly confident that it is actually the son of Thomas H. and Elizabeth, but until I can check the other John’s this will remain a “highly probable.”

I was looking for Minerva and put in her name as Minerva Innis and found a death certificate for her daughter Tommie Alta Howlett, which listed a father of William Guyam Parrigin.⁵ I didn’t find Minerva’s record, but when I looked for William G. Parrigin I found him listed as a parent for William H. Parrigin with a mother listed as Catherine Innis, but I found no death certificate for a Catherine Parrigin either.

Looking for Mary T. Innis I found a death certificate for Eula J. Shelley with parents of J. W. Shelley and Mary Innis born in 1885 in Kentucky, but no death certificate for Mary herself.⁶ I believe J. W. will probably be the brother of the Shelley that Louisa Christina is married to.

In summary you have to be very creative in your searches. Try searching by first name, middle name, initials, and alternate spellings of each of the names. The other thing is to use the advanced search function and try searching the death records by a birth date. Try every field, try every option!

Thank you to all those hard working indexers for FamilySearch!

I’m going back to the census records to look at some of these new names and create family groups. Once I have done that I will come back to the Texas Death Records and search for the spouses and children. Perhaps I will find more clues along the way to help with the missing children. With the names I have I’ll also be checking local cemeteries to try to find more information.

1. Texas, death certificate no. 8220 (13 Feb 1930), Elizabeth [Davis] Innis; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
2. Texas, death certificate no. 44673 (28 Sep 1929), Louise Christine [Innis] Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
3. Texas, death certificate no. 16530 (13 Apr 1947), Tabitha Alice [Ennis] Parrigin; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
4. 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).
5. Texas, death certificate no. 53397 (30 Aug 1965), Tommie Alta [Parrigin] Howlett; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 Jan 2010).
6. Texas, death certificate no. 2204 (1953), Eula J. Shelley; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Death, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).

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Innis Family Tree

It’s time to take a short break from Ancestry and I have heard from friends that the Texas Death Certificates are online, so that’s where I’m going to start. If you are not checking out the new records being posted on FamilySearch – now is the time. Once on the site, mouse over Search Records and select Record Search Pilot from the drop down menu. Below the fill in blocks you will see a magnifying glass with Browse our record collection and select it. Click on Canada, USA and Mexico and all the available collections for North America come up. Texas Death Index 1964-1998 with no images or Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 are the two options – I headed for 1890–1976 because I want images.

I put in Thomas Innis and was rewarded with a couple entries. Thomas Ballard’s information is on the first screen when you select it – this includes his parents.¹ Selecting the image in the upper right corner was even more rewarding. It is the full death certificate and I also notice that while the Record Details list his father as Thomas W., the actual image sure that looks like an H., and his mother is listed as L.W. Davis, it looks to me like E.N. Since I know from the census records that her name was Elizabeth it becomes pretty easy to see. You can save or print the image for your files.

I went to the second available record and it is for Tom Innis as the father of the deceased female Liva Caldonia Taylor.² She is born in Kentucky in 1883 and her father is Tom Innis of Kentucky. My best guess based on age is that she is probably the daughter of Thomas H. Innis and is the seventh child that I had previously listed as unknown.

As we have just seen, FamilySearch has indexed the records based on the names of the deceased and on parent’s names. This opens up a lot of research possibilities, so I promptly changed my search to a last name of Innis with no other information and had 105 hits. This includes people with the name McInnis that were indexed with a space between the Mc and Innis. It also included the surname of Dennis. I backed up and added Thomas as a first name and had five. The Tom Innis father of Liva Caldonia Taylor, and also the Thomas W. listed as the father of Thomas B. that we discussed and a Mc Innis. But there is also the record for Thomas H. Innis who is the father of Thomas B.³

This is a report of death by a doctor so it’s not as helpful as a full death certificate, but I can’t complain. His date of death, 8 February 1908, and cause of death is clearly noted and we know where he died and his age in years and dates. Using my favorite Tombstone Birthday Calculator I now know his date of birth was 22 January 1843. Not a bad haul for less than five minutes of work.

1. Texas, death certificate no. 11162 (29 Jun 1910), Thomas Ballard Innis; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
2. Texas, death certificate no. 58736 (22 Oct 1956), Liva Caldonia [Innis] Taylor; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jan 2010).
3.Texas, Doctor’s Report of Death no. 28537 (8 Feb 1908), Thomas H. Innis; digital image, FamilySearch, “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 Dec 2009).

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Innis Family Tree

I need to hunt down the family of Thomas Ballard Innis and see if I can fill in the family tree a bit. While I’m anxious to go look for materials in Texas, I know it will be best to do my basic homework first. It is much easier when you are looking at records if you come at it with the family group reasonably intact. This way when you see a record for someone with the same last name you can hopefully place it in context. Just doing direct line searches can get you in trouble if you are dealing in common names – so it’s back to Ancestry.

The first record that stands out is the Texas Death Index for Thomas Ballard Innis dated 29 Jun 1910.¹ Well that answered that question! Thomas B. died the month after the 1910 census. I looked at the original image and jotted down notes about the other names on the record.

Going backward, the 1900 census is prior to his marriage and he is residing with his parents. The census lists:²

Thomas H. Innis born Jan 1843, from Kentucky, but both parents are from Virginia,
Elizabeth Innis, May 1843, 7 children born and 7 still living, she is from Tennessee,
Thomas B. Innis Sep 1879.

The 1880 census of Albany, Clinton County, Kentucky, shows:³

Thomas Innis, age 37
Elizabeth Innis, 37
M.C. Innis, 14, daughter
Mary T. Innis, 11, daughter
John H. Innis, 8, son
T.A. Innis, 6, son
Thomas B. Innis, 8m, son
John B. Innis, 19, nephew

This is currently the earliest record for Thomas B. so I’ll just chase his father Thomas H. back since I am here. After looking at the census records for 1850,⁴ 1860⁵ and 1870⁶ for Thomas H. Innis I think I have a pretty fair picture of Thomas H.’s family. Based on the census records the Thomas H. Innis family consists of:

Thomas H. Innis, born Jan 1843, Kentucky,
Elizabeth [Unknown] born May 1843, Tennessee,
Louisa C., c.1864, Clinton Co., Kentucky,
Manerva C., c.1866, Clinton Co., Kentucky,
Mary T., c.1857, Clinton Co., Kentucky,
John H., c.1872, Clinton Co., Kentucky,
Tabitha A., c.1874, Clinton Co., Kentucky,
Thomas B., Sep 1879, Clinton Co., Kentucky,
Unknown Child – this is based on the 1900 census in which Elizabeth is listed with 7 children, but only six living.

1. “Texas Death Index, 1903-2000,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Jan 2010), Thomas Ballard Innis, 29 Jun 1910, Fannin, Cert #11162
2. 1900 U.S. census, Fannin County, Texas, population schedule, Savoy Town, enumeration district (ED) 65, p. 10A, dwelling 157, family 159, Thomas B. Innis; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1633.
3. 1880 U.S. census, Clinton County, Kentucky population schedule, Albany, enumeration district (ED) 27, p. 580, dwelling 136, family 164, Thomas B. Innis; digital images, Ancestry (httop://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 410
4. 1870 U.S. census, Clinton County, Kentucky population schedule, District 4, p. 305A, dwelling 58, family 56, Thos Enes; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll 457.
5. 1860 U.S. census, Clinton County, Kentucky, population schedule, District 6, p. 504, dwelling 433, family 435, Thomas Enos; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 1266.
6. 1850 U.S. census, Roane County, Tennessee, population schedule, Subdivision 20, p. 426B, dwelling 1487, family 1538, John Enos; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 893.

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