Forget Me Not: John Jacob Ott, 1941 MS // Oldest Citizen

 John Jacob Ott

1851 MS - 1941 MS

son of Jacob Jackson Ott

My 1st Cousin, 4x removed

Find A Grave Memorial #48658613

Death Claims Aged Osykan

John Jacob Ott Succumbs to heart Attack: Funeral Tuesday

Osyka. John Jacob Ott, age 90, the oldest citizen of Osyka and father of Mrs. Hugh Wroten of McComb, passed away suddenly Sunday morning at Amarillo, Texas, while he was visiting his daughter, Miss Grace Ott. He succumbed to a heart attack. Mr. Ott known by his many friends as “Uncle Johnny” had been in Texas for several months.

The body will arrive in Osyka early Tuesday morning and funeral services are tentatively set for 2 o’clock Tuesday afternoon from the Osyka Baptist Church.

Mr. Ott was born on May 30, 1851, in Pike county and made his home in this county during his entire lifetime. He was a carpenter and contractor and was very active in late years.

The deceased was a member of the Baptist church and took part in civil activities. His pleasurable disposition made for him many friends and he was loved by both the young and old.

Survivors include the following daughters, Mrs. Ross Ott of Osyka; Mrs. Y. E. Harrell of Clarksdale; Mrs. Hugh Wroten, McComb; Miss Grace Ott, Amarillo; Mrs. J. B. Carter, Millidgeville, Ga.; two sons, James J. Ott of Amarillo; John J. Ott Jr. of San Francisco, Calif.

Source: Death Claims Aged Osykan (McComb, MS: Enterprise-Journal, 10 Nov. 1941) 1; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed February 2019.

Tranquil Tombstone: Silver Springs Cemetery, MS

Silver Springs Cemetery

Progress, Pike Co., MS

Many of my family members are buried in Silver Springs Cemetery, including my great grandparents. Jasper Pascal Brown & Rose Ella Brumfield Brown.

Jasper Pascal Brown & Rose Ella Brumfield Brown

My paternal grandfather, Roy Jessie Brown is buried beside his parents.

Mavis Marie Brown Smith was the daughter of Jasper & Rose. 

She married Denny Herbert Smith. They had three children. 

Denny Herbert Smith

Emmaline Smith Brown, mother of Jasper Pascal Brown, is also buried in Silver Springs.

Other family members are also in this cemetery. I was glad I had a chance to visit a few years ago. Now that I know more about the family, I'd like to visit again.

Cousins = Friends

Have you found cousins through your genealogy searches? I have. Researching my mother's Irish family has lead me to discover cousins I never knew I had. 

Before that, all my cousins were on my father's side of the family. My father was one of seven children and my mother was an only child. So our family was always stacked heavily towards my father.

Irish Cousins 

A weekend on the New Jersey shore

There are three of us at the heart of the Irish cousins. There's me, Colleen in New York State; Patricia, in New Jersey who is my 2nd cousin 2 x removed; and Tara in Massachusetts who is my third cousin. We Irish Cousins not only connected through emails, we met. We have hopped in our cars and driven to each other's houses. And we continue to meet. First, it was just a meal. Now we spend weekends or several days together.

 June 2019 in Cape Cod, MA

We have gotten together to do research and share stories & photographs & documents. But we have also met to visit museums, take a boat ride on the Hudson River & to share meals. We talk about the things we like to do, our children & grandchildren, our homes, and more. We have found that we share much in common, more than just DNA. Over the years, we have become friends. 

This year we met at Tara's new house on Cape Cod. We went to beaches, saw charming lighthouses, browsed in antique shops, ate lots of fresh fish and we talked, talked & talked. 

There are more than just the three of us. We have more cousins in Connecticut, the place where our common ancestors, Patrick Coyle & Margaret Brady Coyle, lived. They include Lisa, Eric & their twins; Lisa's parents, Lucille & Charles; Maureen, Daniel and their boys, Henry & Gavin; Shaileen;  and... We keep growing. Add our children & grandchildren to the numbered you can see it quickly gets big. On this recent trip we met Linda for the first time. She was found through DNA matches. 

Of course, it is much harder to connect with everyone at once. We try for that through emails and our busy calendars. But the three of us, at the core of the Irish cousins, continue to see each other. We look forward to getting together and have lots of fun.

My cousins on my father's side have been in my life all my life. We played together as children. We shared our life's happiest and saddest moments. We are always there for each other. We have been my cousins & friends all my life. It is probably because I have that wonderful connection that I was eager to reach out and find it in my mother's family too.

If you find cousins, don't just add them to your charts & genealogy programs. Get to know them. Make them friends!

Below are other posts I have written about my Irish Cousins: 

• Counting Cousins
• Annual Family Gathering 
• An Expanding Family Gathering
• Our 6th Irish Cousin Meeting 

Census Sunday: Wm J Fortenberry, 1810, 1820 & 1840

These census reports don't match this family exactly but I have high confidence this is the correct family.

These records are from ancestry.com.

William Jasper Fortenberry

c1772 SC – 1842 MS
My 4th great grandfather

son of John Faulkenberry & Hannah Eubanks (Hubanks?)

More about William on this link.

1810 US Census; SC, Lancaster

Wm Fortenberry

5          household members

2          free white males under 10 [Gasua & Calvin]

1          free white males 26 – 44 [William]

1          free white female under 10 [Euseba]

1          free white female 16 – 25 [Violette]

1820 US Census; MS. Pike

Wm Fortenberry

7          household members, all free white

2          males under 10 [ William & Burrell]

2          males 10 – 15 [ Gasua & Calvin]

1          male 45 and over [William]

1          female 26 – 44 [?]

1          female 45 and over [Violette]

1840 US Census; MS, Pike

Wm Fortenberry 

11       household members, 3 slaves & 8 free whites

2          males 10 – 14 [Willis & Hollis]

2          males 15 – 19 [Alfred & Burrell]

1          male 50 – 59 [William? He would be older than this.]

2          females 15 – 19 [Olevia?]

1          female 40 – 49 [Violette? She would bee older than this]