Find Your Dead

Innis Family Tree

Provided by family member ‘Kate’ and used with her permission. The photo is undated. It’s always so nice to have a face to go with a name.

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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

Since I have done some of the basic research on Ancestry to establish the family line, I thought I would take a quick look at the archives in Tennessee and Kentucky to see what other things they might offer.

I was very disappointed to go to the Tennessee State Library and Archives and see this great list of databases online – only to find that most are only available to Tennessee residents. I emailed to ask if they had a way for non-residents to access the archives for a fee. I received a quick response that the contracts with their online commercial vendors specified only the current residents could access the databases. Like everyone else they had no funding to make it “available nation-wide.” I did send back a suggestion that they consider doing a “Friends of the Archive” fee based system for non-residents. I’m not against paying a non-residence research fee for a 30-day subscription. I am against not having access to records just because I live in another state. If there is anyone in Tennessee willing to help let me know.

Kentucky sadly has little to offer of basic use in their online catalog. They offer some of their vital statistic records for purchase on their site, but most of them are available on Ancestry. They do offer the microfilm of the Original Death Certificates from 1911-1958 for a rather large amount of money.

So much for the state archives. Guess I’m going back to Ancestry for some deeper research in their card catalogs and then some Google, GenWeb, County, and newspaper work.

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Innis Family Tree

Moving back a generation I will now look at the family of John and Nancy Innis. From my 17 Feb 2010 post I have established the family as:

John H. Innis, born c.1800-1805, Virginia,
Nancy [Unknown] born c.1800-1805, Virginia – first wife,
Nancy [Unknown] born c. 1822, Kentucky – second wife,
John, c.1824, Tennessee,
James E., c.1826, Tennessee,
Wiley M., c.1833, Tennessee,
Mary B., c. 1835, Tennessee,
Nancy Ann, c. 1841, Tennessee,
Thomas H., Jan 1843, Kentucky,
Emily M., c.1845, Tennessee

And from 20 Feb 2010 the timeline for John’s family appears to be:

1 June 1840 – Roane Co., Tennessee, census,
9 July 1860 – Morgan Co., Tennessee census (Morgan Co. abuts Roane County),
1864 – Clinton Co., Kentucky Louisa C. (daughter of Thomas H.) is born,
25 Jul 1870 – Clinton Co., Kentucky, census
11 Jun 1880 – Clinton Co., Kentucky, census

While the primary long-term goal is still to take the line back, my short-term goal is to determine what records are available and fill in the family information. So I went to FamilySearch hoping for the same luck I had in Texas, but sadly there is nothing in the pilot search for Kentucky or Tennessee. There does appear to be quite a bit on Ancestry in their card catalog so I got a “fair start” and then I’ll go hunting elsewhere. I’m going to approach this as a family group and begin in Kentucky with the latest records and work back. I’m going to look at the children and see if they can help me get anywhere on John. The Nancy’s I’m just going to look at together and see if I can get some clarification – I’ll probably wind up looking in the family trees for some hints.

Since I have already looked at the census records for John (born 1800-1805) I’m going to do this work through the card catalog of Ancestry looking at some of the other databases available. One of things I want to point out is that I will be looking at Thomas H.’s siblings and I will use their children to see if I can establish more information for them, but I’m not going to be spending time coming down their individual lines. I’m only interested in trying to use them to establish facts about their parents, which may lead me to records to clarify John’s life and discover his records.

Before I began my search for the Innis family I went back and had another look at the 1850 census record. I wanted to look for John Innis, both the father and son, and I was bothered by the indexing of the son as John R.K. Ennis. I looked at the image to see if it could be any other middle initial(s) and I was not convinced on the R.K.. I would have probably indexed it that way myself, but the reality is that it could be anything. The double initial just doesn’t fit the family somehow. While they have some unusual names they are generally a single middle name. So I am open to anything from an A to H (which seems popular in the family) and all the way to Z. Somehow what comes to my mind is a W, but it looks nothing like anything else on the page.

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Innis Family Tree

Before I move back a generation and over to Tennessee and Kentucky, let me tell you some of the places that I looked for this last group of Innis siblings. I don’t always get a chance to tell you in the posts, but there are a lot of side trips made while researching. Some good – some not so good, but it’s always an interesting journey.

I spent a lot of time playing in the TXGenWeb Project. As I have said before some states have a long way to go and some states are really doing some great things. The Grayson County TXGenWeb site was the The TXGenWeb Project County of the Year for 2005 and it’s easy to see why. It is easy to negotiate and has tons of easily searchable information. While I didn’t find my families, they sure made searching for them easy and fun. I got sidetracked (not hard to do) looking at the old photos.

I love the home page of the Fannin GenWeb Page! The site is simple to negotiate and I spent most of my time in the Cemeteries section. I encountered a couple of links that didn’t work and emailed the webmaster. What a gem Suzie Henderson is! Less than an hour later I had a response with information concerning the situation and her projection for not only fixing it, but making it better. Can we replicate her and put her in a few neighboring counties where they need some real help. Keep up the good work Suzie!

I also did very well on the sites by Gloria B. Mayfield, Cemeteries of TX Project Manager. While I found all the clouds, pearly gates and blinking stars make the openings hard to read and extremely distracting, it’s really about the information and the information was good. The material is broken down by county and then by cemetery and appears to be updated frequently.

Apparently, GenealogyBank and NewspaperArchives haven’t gotten into the area yet, because I was stumped for information in those searches. That was painful because I have come to rely on them for the background information on a family. On the upside of that – since they didn’t have the information I went to the Bonham Library and what a nice group of people that is to deal with. They are friendly and interested and willing to help. I have asked for obituaries on Thomas H. Innis and Thomas Ballard Innis. I’ll keep you posted.
There are several sites I haven’t really mentioned because they were quick visits with no results. Yes I know you should note your negative results also, but I’m just tired of telling you how poor Colorado is for online sources.

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Innis Family Tree

Have you visited the Texas State Library and Archives yet? They are getting it right and I’m hopeful they will keep working at it and loading more things into their digital archives. Take a look at what’s available under genealogy.

There is an Online Public Access Catalog to see what they have in the archives, but the following links are available on the genealogy page.

Online and searchable by name:
Index to Confederate Pension Applications,
Index to Texas Adjutant General Service Records, 1836-1935,
Index to Republic Claims,
Confederate Indigent Families Lists,

In Person:
Vital Statistics Indexes,
Texas County Tax Rolls on Microfilm,
Texas City Directories,
Texas Telephone Directories,
1867 Voters Registration
Convict Record Ledgers (1849-1954),
Convict Record Ledgers Indexes (1849-1970).

Don’t forget to always look at the university libraries and pay close attention to their special collections. The Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin is terrific.

Thanks Texas! It’s nice when you can at least find out what’s available in a state.

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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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