Mary Ann (Vaughn) Mason

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

One of the most frequently asked questions in general facebook genealogy groups goes something like, "Is there any point in including all of my ancestor's siblings on my tree? They are very distracting. Can't I just trim them all off and focus on my direct line?" Those who grudgingly include siblings suggest that including the sibling's spouse and children is just too much bother, too much minutia. Then they ask, "How many of the people do you include?"

The short answer: All of them.

For example, Mary Ann (Vaughn) Mason and her siblings.

Mary Ann Vaughn was the third wife of Wesley Randolph Mason, who was an uncle to my great-grandmother Mary Charlotte "Maggie" (Cawthon) Chapman. Mary Ann Vaughn is important because she and W.R. Mason had a daughter, Minnie Cordelia, who lived well into the twentieth century. That daughter's descendants might have information that I don't have. Information that I cannot get anywhere else. That might include photographs, letters, family bibles, oral stories. Information that I could not hope to get anywhere else.

Through census records, I had pieced together that Mary Ann Vaughn had a sister named Sarah (Vaughn?) Brasier and two brothers named Henry M. Vaughn and James R. Vaughn.

Then yesterday evening, along comes this death notice to confirm my findings:

This obituary names Mrs. Brazier [Sarah] of Blum, Texas as the deceased. It tells me that her husband was a Methodist minister who had predeceased her. It provides her death date and the general location of her burial in or near Palestine, Texas. It names her sister as Mrs. Mason [Mary Ann], who also lived at Blum. Additionally, their brothers are referred to as two bachelors who also lived at Blum - the youngest over 70 years old. Notably,  Mrs. Brazier's niece is Mrs. L. E. Spalding. That would be Louis Eugene Spalding. His wife was Minnie Cordelia Mason of Palestine, Texas, and she was the daughter of Wesley R. and Mary Ann (Vaughn) Mason.

Rev. Thomas Galt - Tribute of Respect

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Several years ago I located the obituary of Sarah (Happer) Galt, wife of Rev. Thomas Galt of Sangamon County, Illinois. Strangely, a death notice for Thomas Galt was not located. Since he was much better known than her, it was odd that nothing turned up for him. Today, I located his. It seems likely that the paper containing his obituary had not been digitalized at the time.

What I have located, though, is a tribute written by his church and published in the Daily Illinois State Journal of Springfield, Illinois on 24 September 1857 - just a little over a week after he died on 12 September 1857:

This tribute reads as follows:

Tribute of Respect

At a meeting of the Congregation of the Center Presbyterian Church of Sangamon county, Illinois, held Sept. 20th, 1857, the following testimonial of respect to the memory of the Rev. Thomas Galt, deceased, was unanimously adopted and ordered to be placed on the records of our Church:

Whereas; It has pleased God in his wise Providence to remove by death from us, the Rev. Thomas Galt, while in the prime of life and in the midst of his usefulness from his labors on earth to his rest in heaven, thereby depriving us for ever of his labors of love among us, and of his bright and shining example. In it we would recognize the hand of our Father, and humbly submit to the will of God, and bear testimony that, as a friend, he was sincere and generous; as a minister of Jesus Christ, he was able, efficient and persevering in the midst of discouragements; as a pastor, he was faithful and devoted; and it is with the most profound sorrow that we bear testimony that we believe the Church of Christ, and especially this church, has me with a loss not easily repaired. Therefore,

Resolved, That while we feel it to be our duty, in this bereavement, to bow humbly to the will of God, we also feel it to be our duty to expresss our sense of the great loss we have sustained, and of our high estimate of his ministerial labors among us, and of our sincere attachment to him as a friend and pastor.

Resolved, That we most affectionately tender to his bereaved family our most sincere condolence, and our united prayers for grace to sustain them in this afflictive dispense of God's Providence.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the family of the deceased. By order of this Session. 

AARON VAN PATAN, Clerk

Samuel H. Jimison, Chairman

Richard E. Duncan's Barn Burned

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019


For me, genealogy is so much more than collecting names and dates. Whenever possible, I like to flesh out the stories about my family. Newspapers are one way to that.

The following article about my great-grandfather Richard E. Duncan turned up this evening.

In the spring of 1933, in the first part of the Great Depression, his barn burned. In that fire, he lost almost all of his seed corn for the year. This would have impacted his crop for 1933 and for the following year. This is not a family story that I ever heard before, so I don't know what he did that year to make a corn crop. Regrettably, there's no one to ask.

John D. Lewis, 1810 Census

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Traditionally, researchers have placed the John Lewis, presumed to have married Susan Daniel, in Pulaski County, Kentucky, and they have attributed the location of the elder Lewis children's birth as Pulaski County, Kentucky.

There's just one big problem with that. The John Lewis of Pulaski County, Kentucky does not have enough children. As a general rule of thumb, when looking at the early census, I want to see a head of household with at least as many children as have been documented to be the children of that individual and who can be documented to be living in that census year. An individual with more than the known number of children cannot be ruled out because of the high mortality rate. There were potentially more child than are known. However, an individual with too few children can be ruled out.

I found these individuals of Pulaski County, Kentucky to be of interest on the 1810 census:

Lewis, John 1001 - 1101
Lewis, Leonard 001 - 101
Lewis, Daniel 0001 - 1001
Lewis, Samuel 00301 - 000001

This John Lewis has in his household the following:

one male under age 10
one male age 26 - 44
one female under age 10
one female age 10 - 15
one female age 26 - 44

The elder children of John D. Lewis had these approximate birthdates, according to census records:

Wiley Lewis b. c. 1798 or 1799
William Henry Lewis b. c. 1799
Joel D. Lewis b. c. 1801
Celia (Lewis) Babb b. c. 1803
Matilda (Lewis) Mason b. c. 1807
Rebecca (Lewis) Mason b. c. 1809
Spencer P. Lewis b. unknown
Daniel A. Lewis b. unknown

The John Lewis of Pulaski County, Kentucky simply does not have enough sons and daughters to be our John D. Lewis.

From the 1810 Kentucky census, a better fit for our John D. Lewis is the John Lewis of Knox County. There are these individuals of interest on that census:

Joseph Daughtery 1001 - 11201       1 - slave
Robert Daniel 0011 - 2001
James Daniel 13001 - 00201
Abner Lewis 2111 - 3001
John Lewis 2201 - 3001

Knox County, Kentucky Census, 1810

This John Lewis has the following individuals in his household:

two males under ten = Joel D. Lewis and unknown
two males 10 - 15 = Wiley and William Henry Lewis
one male 26 - 44 = John Lewis
three females under 10 = Celia, Matilda, and Rebecca Lewis
one female 26 - 44 = Mrs. John Lewis

This John Lewis is a much closer fit for our John Lewis. Plus, he has the added advantage of being in the same location as those with the surname Daniel and Daughtery. I propose that if we want to be more successful in tracing the line of John D. Lewis and his supposed wife, Susan Daniel, that we shift our attention from Pulaski County, Kentucky to Knox County, Kentucky.

Other posts in this series:

Matilda (Lewis) Mason, Daughter of John Lewis

Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb - Obituary

John Lewis and the Blaine Deposition

Jane Lewis, Wife of Milton Wardlow

Rebecca Lewis, Wife of Aaron Rice

John Lewis, Reference to McNairy Co., TN Estate in Tishomingo Co., MS

John Lewis, Tishomingo Co., Mississippi Probate Court

Cawthon Sibling Obits - Children of Charlie Dallas Cawthon

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Charlie Dallas Cawthon was the brother of my great-grandmother, Mary Charlotte (Cawthon) Chapman. He was born 21 March 1878 and died 19 April 1952 in Dallas County, Texas. His wife, Susie Lawrence Britt, was born 3 June 1887 in Arkansas and died 13 July 1961 in Dallas County, Texas. They had three daughters, who are the subjects of this obituary study.

Their know children were

1. Rosalie (Cawthon) Davis b. 3 August 1907 in Oklahoma.
2. Gracie Mae (Cawthon) Smith Hill b. 1 January 1909 in Texas.
3. Chloe Iris (Cawthon) Connell Kennedy b. 10 April 1910 in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.

Their obituaries in the order of their deaths:

Rosalie (Cawthon) Davis died 3 September 2004 in Dallas, Texas. No obituary has been found as yet.

Gracie Mae (Cawthon) Smith Hill died 8 March 2007 in Terrell, Texas:

Hill, Gracie Mae. Born January 1, 1909 in Mt. Pleasant, TX, and passed away March 8, 2007 in Terrell, TX. Survived by her sister Chloe Kennedy; niece Yvonne Butler; nephew Sam Davis. Graveside Service 2:00 p.m. Monday, March 12, 2007 at Restland Memorial Park.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Sun. 11 March 2007]

Chloe Iris (Cawthon) Connell Kennedy died in Texarkana, Texas on  10 September 2018.

Chloe Iris Kennedy 108 years young passed away on Monday, September 10, 2018, in Texarkana, Texas. Chloe was born on Tuesday, April 12, 1910, in Mount Pleasant, Texas to her loving and thoughtful parents, Charlie Dallas Cawthon and Susis Laurence Britt. Ms. Chloe Iris Kennedy will be sincerely missed by her loving family, her devoted friends and all the wonderful individuals who knew and loved her.

The family will receive guests on Thursday, September 13, 2018, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 at Restland Funeral Home. Graveside service will be held at 3:00 PM in the Fountain View garden at Restland Memorial Park on Thursday, September 13, 2018.

Funeral arrangements for Ms. Chloe Iris Kennedy have been faithfully entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery, which is located at 13005 Greenville Ave., at the intersection of Restland Road, Dallas, Texas.
[Source: Restland Funeral Home]

Kelley Sibling Obits - Children of John and Nancy Missouri (Owens) Kelley Jr.

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

John Kelley Jr. and wife Nancy Missouri Owens lived near Camden in Kershaw County, South Carolina. My recent research indicates that Nancy was probably his second wife and that he had a daughter by his first wife.

The children of John and Nancy Missouri (Owens) Kelley were the following:

1. William H. Kelly b. 1840 SC
2. Mancel Pinkney Kelley b. 1 Sept 1843 in Kershaw Co., SC
3. Mary Jane Kelly b. 10 March 1846  SC
4. Harvey H. Kelly b. Dec 1849 SC
5. Singleton Frost Kelley b. 25 Dec 1851 Kershaw Co., SC
6. Edna E. Kelley b. 13 Sept 1854 Kershaw Co., SC

The obituaries of these siblings will be given in the order of their deaths.

William H. Kelly's date and place of death are unknown.

Harvey H. Kelly's obituary has not been found, but this news item appeared. It was common to report on deaths by suicide. Harvey H. Kelley never married, and at the time of his death, he was living in his nephew Stephen Clyburn's household. Harvey's mother Nancy (Owens) Kelly was also living in the Clyburn home.

Mary Jane (Kelly) Clyburn died on 21 May 1909 in Kershaw County, South Carolina. No obituary or death notice has been found for her, but there was an obituary for her husband Capt. Lewis L. Clyburn, who died in Kershaw County, South Carolina on 28 February 1925.

Note that Lewis L. Clyburn's obituary provides the information that his first wife was Miss Mary J. Kelly and that their children were T.B. Clyburn, S.S. Clyburn, L.C. Clyburn, and Dr. W. R. Clyburn.

Mancel Pinkney Kelly died on 19 June 1912 in Tupelo, Coal County, Oklahoma.

This obituary would mislead the reader into thinking that M.P. Kelley had lived in Oklahoma for 20 years. Instead, he lived for many years in Titus County, Texas. I believe that this death notice was placed by brother Singleton Frost Kelly.

Singleton Frost Kelly died on 6 December 1918 in Kershaw County, South Carolina. An obituary for him has not been found, but there was one for his wife who died in 1924.

Her obituary names their surviving children: Mrs. S C Clyburn, Mrs. L. J. Watts, and M. Blake Kelly.

Edna E. Kelley died on 12 January 1923 in Kershaw County, South Carolina.

Edna E Kelley never married. At the time of her death, she was living with her nephew Dr. W. R. Clyburn. 

Thompson Sibling Obits - Children of Solomon R Thompson

© Kathy Duncan, 2019

Solomon R. Thompson, son of Lodowick and Priscilla (Reeves) Thompson, was born 25 May 1804 in South Carolina and died 9 May 1882 in Lancaster County, South Carolina. He had three known children:

1. Rev. Eugene W[illiam] Thompson
2. Elizabeth Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley
3. Henrietta Southerland (Thompson) Floyd

The obituaries of these siblings are arranged in order of their dates of death:

Rev. Eugene W[illiam] Thompson died on 5 April 1877. His death was off by a day in this death notice from the Raleigh, Observer. This notice was a reprint from the Burke Blade. Note that no next of kin is mentioned.

Henrietta Southerland (Thompson) Floyd died in the fall of 1925 in Winfield, Titus County, Texas. Her obituary has not been found, but her death was mentioned in the obituary of her husband, James Winfield Floyd, who died the following year. J. W. Floyd's obituary appeared in The Mount Pleasant Dialy Times on Friday 7 May 1926. His obituary lists his surviving children: Mrs. S.A. Thomas, Mrs. Della Owens, Mrs. Robert Landrum, Mrs. L.E. May, Shell Floyd, Charles Floyd, Mrs. C. R. Gingles, and Mrs. J.A. Buchanan.

Elizabeth Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley's obituary appeared in The Mount Pleasant Daily Times on 10 January 1935:

“Mrs. Eliza Kelley died Wednesday [January 9, 1935] at the home of her son Richard S. Kelley at Ripley following a stroke at age 90. She would have been 91 in June. She was a native of South Carolina and moved to Texas 40 years ago. She had been living with Richard for the past 15 years. Survivors include, three sons, three daughters; Pink Kelley of Quincy, Florida; Will Kelley of Cass County, Texas; Frank Kelley; Mrs. Edna Foster of Wichita Falls, Texas; Mrs. Bessie Brown of Clarksville, Texas; and Mrs. Annie Price of Fort Worth, Texas. Funeral services and burial was at Bridges Chapel Methodist Church north of Mount Pleasant, Texas.”