Louisa Christina Innis Shelley

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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