Leaves & Branches

Sunday, June 30, 2019

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.

Tuesday, June 18, 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.

Sunday, June 9, 2019

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:

Sunday, June 2, 2019

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]

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Cemetery Research

I have walked through many cemeteries. There are often beautiful, serene places. They are filled with history and art. It is wonderful to find a relative's memorial. I often find birth or death dates I did not know. Looking all around the memorial I sometimes find other family members.

It is nice to find a family connection in the real world, not just another digital image. As I stand & photograph the memorial I wonder who else has stood in that spot, grieving for this individual or, like me, learning about this individual.

Here are links to blog posts about some cemeteries I have visited. I have folder filled with more cemetery photos that I should add to future blog posts.

AT THE CEMETERIES

Connecticut

Mount St. Peter Kilday family
Old St. Mary's Cemetery Brady family
Pine Grove Brady family
Saint Mary's Coyle family

Ireland

Searching for a Tombstone Mullane Family

Louisiana

Ott Cemetery Ott family

Mississippi

New York

North Park Gartner family

New Jersey

Immaculate Conception Brady family
Riverside Cemetery Gartner/Bearman family
Calvary Cemetery Carberry Family

Ohio

Reedsburg Cemetery Mark family

Pennsylvania

St. Peter's Ritter
Mummert's Cemetery Dick family
Black Oak Ridge Ritter family
Rittersville Cemetery Ritter family
Upper Conewago Church of the Brethren Cemetery Dick family

Virginia

Gordonsville Cemetery Brumfield

When you take photographs of a cemetery be sure to add them to Find A Grave.

There may be someone else anxious to see those memorials.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Military: Gettysburg, PA

Gettysburg

National Military Park. PA

Here I am, many years ago, at Gettysburg. Our parents had a great love for our country and its history. They took my brothers & I to many historic places. They taught us to be proud of our country & all the men and women who helped us to gain our freedoms.

At that time I did not know we had many family members who had served, on both dies, on the Civil War. I'd like to go back now that I have an even greater appreciation of the sacrifices made during that war & other wars.

NATUR; Ireland

Saint Patrick's Well,

Clonmel. County Tipperary, Ireland

In 2012 my oldest daughter and I traveled to Ireland. We rented a car and drove around the island. We were both site seeing & researching our Irish roots. One of the first places we went was Clonmel, home of our Daniel Mullane family.

The Daniel Mullane family took picnics to Saint Patrick’s Well. Old black and white home movies show the place, easily recognizable by the stone cross. Family stories tell of the dog running away with Aunt Nell’s hat and when he was chased the hat ended up in the water. I was delighted to be be in the same place my ancestors had enjoyed. Now the ancient site is the setting for memories for another generation of our family.

It was a beautiful. peaceful place. A good place to enjoy nature & think about our family.

St. Patrick has always had d special place in my heart because I was born on his Saint's Day, St. Patrick's Day. So his well near Clonmel is special in many ways.

I hope you enjoy these NATURE photos from our memorable trip.

Amy Johnson Crow challenges us to remember our ancestors and their families through this task: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I completed ’52 Ancestors’ in 2014 & here I go again. This post is in response to that challenge. The topic for this week is NATURE.

Mary (Spurlock) Brown: Parents Found?

Mary ‘Polly’ (Spurlock) Brown is my 3^rdgreat grandmother. She married Edward Stewart Brown. I know almost nothing about her early life. She appeals to me because she was born 1 January 1800 in Oglethorpe, Georgia. She was born with the new century. She lived 88 years; living through the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Unfortunately, I know nothing more about the Spurlock family.

That may have changed.

Ancestry DNA now has ‘ThruLines’ that suggest how you may be related to your DNA ancestors through common ancestors. If I click on ThruLines I am shown my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. When I scrolled down those names recently, I saw familiar names that I have spent many hours researching. Then I noticed a new name.

Allen Spurlock (unproven)

Aug 1774 NC – 8 Aug 1864 Amite, MS

Is this Mary’s father? The name sends me to an Ancestry tree which is fully sourced. Allen Spurlock lived in Amite, MS from at least 1820 according to those sources. His wife was Frances (Traylor) Spurlock. 8 children are listed, including Mary.

Now, how do I proceed? Maybe I should begin with the marriage of Mary & Edward. I do not have a marriage record. However, their oldest child, Allen Moses Brown, my 2^ndgreat grandfather, was born 26 January 1836 in Amite, MS. Look at the name of this child. Edward’s father was Moses. Was Mary’s father Allen? Was their first son named for both of their fathers?

In order for Mary & Edward to marry they had to have met. Both families were certainly in Mississippi. The Ancestry tree for Allen Spurlock shows the family in Amite, MS in 1810, 1820, 1830, 1850 & on to Allen’s death. Edward’s father, Moses Brown, was in the Carolinas & then in Marion, MS circa 1812. He left MS for OH circa 1825. But Edward remained in MS. He married Mary in Amite c. 1835 & purchased land in Amite, MS in 1840.

Timing & location appear to fit. Allen Spurlock, his daughter, Mary, and her future husband, Edward S. Brown were all in Amite MS at the same time. Could this be a family connection?