Wedding Wednesday: Solomon Scott and Nelly Little

This is the marriage license and return for Solomon Scott and Nelly Little. Solomon is my maternal 3x Great-Grandfather – he’s Scoatney’s dad. But Nelly is not my 3x Great-Grandmother.

Wedding Wednesday: Rufus Littlejohn and Flora Virginia Woods

For all the sleuthing I've done around my 2x Great-Grandfather Rufus Littlejohn, I've written very little about what I actually do know about his life: the time he spent in Steubenville, OH. So I thought I'd dive back into themed posting by focusing on the seeming start of his Steubenville story, his marriage to my 2x Great-Grandmother Flora Virginia Woods.

Rufus Littlejohn and Flora Woods were married in Jefferson County, Ohio on December 25, 1899. Yes, Christmas Day! (If you're keeping track, another pair of my 2x Great-Grandparents, Laura Ann Scruggs/Screws/Strugs and James Steven Evans, married on Christmas Eve 1901.)

Here is their marriage record:

Genealogical Serendipity: Is This How Katherine Met Ivan?

As you know, I've started on a research project called Operation DC. My goal: to build up my contextual understanding of Washington, DC between 1900 and 1964 so that I can find records about - and ultimately better understand - the lives of my grandparents, great-grandparents and associated relatives who were born in or moved to DC during that time.

To that end, I picked up this little stack of books from the library on Wednesday...

(Book list at bottom of page)

...and started reading The Guide to Black Washington: Places and Events of Historical and Cultural Significance in the Nation's Capital. And that's when I found what may turn out to be a very useful little gem:

“By the 1920s and 1930s the National Theater was a focal point of antisegregation protest in Washington. The arrival of Marc Connelly’s successful Broadway production, The Green Pastures, starring the distinguished black actor Richard B. Harrison as “de Lawd,” threw the black community into turmoil.”

Why does this matter to me?

Well, my great-grandmother Katherine Shepherd married a man named Ivan Lewis Gittens Sharpe, in 1957, in New York City. Ivan was an actor (though how steadily, I don't know). And can you guess the name of one of the plays in which he performed? Yes, The Green Pastures. In fact, here's a review of his acting in this play that appeared in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on December 10, 1932:

Accessed  on the Old Fulton New York Post Cards website.

I've always wondered how Katherine and Ivan met. Well, I know that Katherine was living in DC until sometime between 1940 and 1957, when she moved to New York. My assumption was that they met there. But this snippet of text from The Black Guide to Washington makes me wonder: Did Katherine meet Ivan in DC while he was performing in The Green Pastures? To get closer to an answer, I'd need to know:

• When exactly did The Green Pastures come to DC?
• Was Ivan Sharpe performing in the play at that time?
• And, if possible, what was the cast up to in DC?
• Basically, is it likely that he and Katherine crossed paths?

So many questions! You can bet I will be researching this as Operation DC continues!


P.S. Here's the book list!

Evelyn, Douglas E. and Paul Dickson. On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C. Washington, DC: Farragut Publishing Company, 1992.

Fitzpatrick, Sandra, and Maria R. Goodwin. The Guide to Black Washington: Places and Events of Historical and Cultural Significance in the Nation's Capital. New York: Hippocrene, 2001.

Gardullo, Paul. The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2009.

Stewart, Allison. First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books, 2013.

Willis, Deborah, and Jane Lusaka. Visual Journal: Harlem and D.C. in the Thirties and Forties. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1996.

Mystery Monday: Who Is Liontly Banks?

For the past few weeks, I’ve been reading a really interesting book by Bill Bryson called One Summer: America, 1927. In it, Bryson – who is seriously my favorite non-fiction author anywhere ever – basically presents a snapshot of the United States in the Summer of 1927 highlighting not just significant people and events but also the sometimes surprising connections between them. Imagine, in this one summer:

• Charles Lindbergh made the first successful non-stop flight across the Atlantic between New York and Paris,
• Babe Ruth hit his 60^th home run and set a record that wouldn’t be broken until 1961,
• Carving began on Mount Rushmore,
• Prohibition – and bootlegging, and organized crime – were running full steam ahead,
• Television as we know it was publically debuted,
• Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were sentenced to death and executed for a robbery and murders they almost certainly did not commit, sparking protests and riots around the world,
• The first feature-length talking movie was released in theaters,
• Finance officials from Europe and the US met and made a decision that would lead to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression,
• and so much more!

It was a pretty significant summer - especially in retrospect - and the book really is fascinating. In fact, it made me wonder, what was my family up to in 1927?

At the same time, on Sunday evening, I realized that I haven’t written a Mystery Monday post in a while, despite having many mysteries in my genealogical files. And, because the first person I think of when I think “mystery” is my maternal great-grandmother Katherine, I turned to her files. Well, guess what she was up to in the summer of 1927? Getting hitched!

And therein lies the mystery. We know the name of her husband – Liontly Banks – but that’s pretty much all we know about him! Who the heck was he??

Okay, let’s start at the beginning. We know that Katherine Shepherd and Liontly T. Banks were married on July 5, 1927 by the Reverend John C. Mosley. The marriage was solemnized at 413 21^st NW in Washington, DC, the home that Katherine and her son Louis had lived in with Katherine’s aunt Eleanor (Allen) Petite and her family since at least 1920. Here’s the record:

Liontly is listed as being “of Washington, DC” and he is 34 years old. The document also says this is his first marriage. That’s not a ton to go on, but thankfully there’s a pretty robust collection of extant city directories for DC. Looking through those, we find the couple in 1929. Only. He’s listed as Lionly (minus the “t”) and their residence is 1318 22^nd Street NW, Apartment 4. He is working as a waiter.

By 1930, Katherine’s back to living with her aunt Eleanor Petite, according both to the city directory and the census. Though her last name is Banks, she’s listed as single. She lives with Eleanor until Eleanor passes in 1933.

1930 Census for Katherine (Shepherd) Banks in Washington, DC.

As for Liontly, where does he go after 1929? And where was he before 1927? Darned if I know. There’s a Linley Banks in the city directory for 1927 (the year they got married) and he’s a waiter, but we can’t be sure it’s him. He’s living at 2619 K Street NW. In 1924, there’s a Leontly Banks living at 505 S Street NW. He’s a tailor. Is this him? Can’t say for sure! And there’s a Loney Banks in 1930 living at 1512 Caroline NW and working as a waiter, but, again, can we be sure it’s him? No. There is no listing of him in other years in DC directories that I have found.

 

The only other document I have – and I’m not certain this is him – is a 1918 World War I Draft Registration Card for a Liontly Banks. His home address is Charles City, VA; he’s a machinist’s helper working in Newport News, VA; and his nearest relative is his mother, Mattie Banks. He’s also 37 years old, which would make him 46 when he marries in 1927, as opposed to the 34 which is written on his marriage document above. So, inconsistent. Just to be safe, I searched multiple census years for a Mattie Banks in or near VA with a son named Liontly (or a similar name) with no luck.

My last clue is the 1940 Census. It lists Katherine Banks and her son Louis Shepherd as boarders in a home in Southeast DC. She is listed as widowed.

I wrote a few years ago to the DC Department of Health to see if they had a record of his death between 1928 and 1930. Nope! They suggested I check Maryland and Virginia as well. Maryland’s records are online up to 1944. No Liontly (or variation) Banks. I still need to check VA.

So, in summary

• 1881: Born? Uncertain identity.
• 1893: Born?
• 1918: Liontly Banks (37, machinist’s helper) in VA. Uncertain identity.
• 1924: Leontly Banks (tailor) in SW DC. Uncertain identity.
• 1927: Linley Banks (waiter) in NW DC. Uncertain identity.
• 1927: Liontly Banks (34 yrs) marries Katherine Shepherd in NW DC.
• 1929: Lionly (waiter) and Cath Banks in NW DC.
• 1930: Wife Katherine is no longer living with him. No sign of him in city directories
• 1940: Is deceased?

It’s possible that Katherine was something called a “grass widow,” a new term I learned at last month’s genealogy conference that refers to a woman whose husband has abandoned her. They often said they were widowed to avoid the embarrassment of abandonment or divorce. Perhaps Liontly lived a long life somewhere where I just haven’t found him yet.

Who knows? But, I’ll keep searching!

Ideas, suggestions, etc? Let me know in the comments!

Wedding Wednesday: James Steven Evans and Laura Ann Scruggs

Being in the South for the past few months has provided me with both a great opportunity and great motivation to learn more about the lives of my paternal grandmother’s parents, Steve Evans / Theodore Johnson and Beatrice Harris, and even about their parents. For my most recent Wedding Wednesday post, I shared what I knew about the marriage of Beatrice’s parents, my great-great-grandparents Ardenia Jackson and Solomon Harris. This week, I’d like to share what I know about the marriage of Steve Evans/ Theodore Johnson’s parents, my great-great-grandparents Laura Ann Scruggs and James Steven Evans. Given how much I’ve been writing about their son, they may already feel familiar to you, but hopefully this adds some more context to their lives.

(And, first things first: although I’ve referred to James Steven as Steve or Steve Sr. in previous posts, I am now shifting to calling him James Steven or James because this, my cousin tells me, is the name he went by with his family, though official documents list him as Steve, Steven or Stephen.)

Originally located at the Montgomery County, AL Probate Court, this version is from the AL Dept. of Archives & History.

This is the official marriage license and return for James and Laura Ann. You saw a similar one for Solomon and Ardenia Harris. And as with Solomon and Ardenia, there is also a second, decorative certificate!

Located at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, AL.

 

What do you all notice about when they were married? Look at that date!

(Credit at Bottom of Page)

December 24th, 1901 - Christmas Eve! Now, I can’t make any definitive statements about the significance of this date to them in particular, whether it was mere convenience or chosen specifically, but Americans in the late 19^th and early 20^th century were definitely captured by the magic of Christmas. Gift-giving and Christmas cards were popular, Virginia O’Hanlon had famously received an affirmative answer to her question “Is there a Santa Claus?” from the New York Sun in 1897, and by 1900, it’s estimated that 1 in 5 Americans had a Christmas Tree. So it was absolutely a special time to get married.

It was also just one year after the turn of the century. James and Laura Ann had recently said goodbye to the final century during which chattel slavery was legal in the U.S., and here they are, embarking on a life together, probably with dreams of the future their children might be able to experience. I’m probably romanticizing this, but really, imagine the promise of this moment. (Of course, by contrast, the decade beginning with 1891 - as in, the decade leading up to their marriage - saw the greatest number of African American lynchings out of all the decades for which the Tuskegee Institute tallied them (1882 – 1968). 1900 saw 106 alone and 1901 saw 105.)

Whew.

In any case, James and Laura Ann were married on December 24^th, 1901 in Oak Grove, Montgomery County, Alabama, by Reverend. J.T. Golson.

So what do we know about James and Laura Ann’s life together? Well, it was certainly filled with hard work: in the only census record we have where they appear together, both are listed as farm laborers and are working for wages. Given this and they fact that they are renting the land on which they live, plus their location in Alabama’s Black Belt (named originally for the rich, black soil, and not for the presence of African Americans), it’s likely that they were either sharecroppers or tenant farmers. Both of these groups of workers were generally individuals with little material resources to their names who worked land owned by others in return for the ability to keep some portion of the crop.

The Evans Family lived in Dooley, AL at least between 1910 and 1915. Credit Below.

(This was generally an exploitative system that left most sharecroppers and tenant farmers – of all racial backgrounds – impoverished, as they often had to buy on credit their necessities for farming and for life from the people for whom they worked. When the credit came due annually, they owed money, signed up for another year of working and thus the cycle continued.) As late as 1918, when James registered for the draft, he was still working as a farm laborer; his employer was an L.D. Zuber in Montgomery County.

We also know that Steve and Laura built a large family together – according to my Alabama cousins (so helpful!) – they had 14 children together.

Sadly, their time together was cut short, when Laura Ann was injured in a tragic accident. As my cousin (their great-granddaughter, who heard it from their oldest daughter) tells it, while Laura Ann was expecting another child, she saw that one of the family’s hogs or pigs had escaped its enclosure and was running around the farm. As she tried to corner and return it, it kicked her in the stomach. The injury was too serious for either Laura Ann or the baby to survive.

James Steven was left with a gaggle of children from teenagers to toddlers to take care of, and no wife. We know that in 1930 he was a traveling Methodist minister and my cousin says that he was already living this life when his wife died, which would have made the situation even more difficult. (Let’s also acknowledge the difficulty of Laura Ann’s life with all of these children while he was traveling!) It is perhaps no surprise, then, that James remarried fairly quickly – he wed Ella Smith in 1920, and then Florence Donovan, in 1924. He also moved from Montgomery County to Jefferson County, at whose heart was and is Birmingham, with its lure of coal mining and steel jobs that paid better than farming work.  

I wish I knew more about James and Laura Ann’s life together. I have no guesses on how they met and no concrete information about their lives before 1901. I do know that they have descendants spread out across the U.S. and that among them are students, college graduates, educators, lawyers, civil servants, businesspeople, medical professionals, information technology professionals, clergy, and more. When you think about the path of opportunities that lead from farming and coal mining to the present, that’s a pretty cool thing, indeed!

Do you have any pictures of James Steven and Laura Ann (Scruggs) Evans, or of their children? Do you have more information about their life together? Please share! 


Image Credit: Cover art for Dear Santa Claus, by Various Authors. Published by By W. B. Conkey Company in 1901 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. 

Map Credit: This is cropped from the Map of Montgomery County, AL created for the Board of Revenue by J.M. Garrett and published in Chicago by Rand McNally & Co in 1901. Full map located here and the original source is the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Wedding Wednesday: Solomon Harris and Ardenia Jackson

After all that research in Alabama, I had to take a breather, but I’m easing back into organizing and writing things up. If you read my last post, you know that the greatest find of my trip was actual living family members, but I also found some pretty neat documents. Here’s one of them:

This is the marriage record for my paternal great-great-grandparents, Solomon Harris and Ardenia Jackson (written here as Adelia).  They are the parents of my dad’s mom’s mom, Beatrice Harris. If their names sound familiar, it’s because last August I posted that a basic record about their marriage had been placed online at FamilySearch.org. Well, I used that information on my trip to find their marriage application, license and return at the Montgomery County Probate Office in Alabama. That’s what you see above.

After I visited the Probate Court, I spent some time at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, also in Montgomery, and something told me to look up marriage records there, too. Thank goodness for that feeling, because look what they had that the Probate Office didn't!

This beautiful baby right here is a copy of the certificate that apparently would have been given directly to the couple to take to their pastor of choice, who would sign and return it to them upon completing the ceremony. They would then have taken it back to the courthouse to be officially registered.

Solomon and Ardenia were married on the 3^rd of December in 1914. While the first record above states Solomon was 21 and Ardenia was 18 when they married, other records that state that both Solomon and Ardenia were born in the summer of 1897, making them each actually just 17. The ceremony took place in Madison Park, in Montgomery, AL and was conducted by a Reverend P.J Minefield. According to the marriage license application (in the first document above), Ardenia was Baptist, while Solomon has no religion listed, so it’s likely Rev. Minefield was a Baptist minister. However, I haven’t yet been able to find anything on him.

Something did come up when I looked up Madison Park in Montgomery County, Alabama: the History page for the Madison Park Community Reunion. If this is in fact the Madison Park where they were married, then they celebrated their union in a town that had been founded about 30 years earlier by former slaves in order to “have a future for themselves and their families.” According to the website,

 “They worked their own land; built houses, established a school and houses of worship…. [T]he community established farms and produces row crops and table vegetables. They built grist mills, saw mills, two syrup mills, a cotton gin, grocery stores, a park and a gravel pit. The community for all practical purposes was a self-sufficient community.”

You can read more here.

This was a place designed so that African Americans, so recently out of slavery and facing hostility and abuse from a region not willing to give up the racism or economics of slavery, could feel safe and make their own way in the world. I don’t know if Solomon and Ardenia actually lived in this community or had some other tie that led them to be married there, or if this is even the same Madison Park (though I couldn’t find any others) but if they did live there, how cool! (And yes, I sent the group an email to see if I can find anything more!)

Solomon and Ardenia brought two daughters into the world together, Beatrice in 1915 and Lillian in 1917. In fact, another of my cool finds from the trip to Alabama were Beatrice and Lillian’s listings in the Montgomery County Register of Births. (This was a real case of serendipity, because there are only 2 registers and 10 years worth of birth records available at the Probate Office, 1908-1912 and 1913-1917. I found 4 people!)

Here’s Beatrice:

(Left Side)

(Right Side)

And here’s Lillian:

(Left Side)

(Right Side)

Among other things, these records tell us that this was the first marriage for both Ardenia and Solomon, that they are living in Beat 18 of Montgomery County in 1915, and that both are working as farm laborers in 1915 and 1917. But by 1918, Solomon is working for the Winter Loeb Grocery Company, and it looks like they are living in the city of Montgomery itself, instead of on the farmland surrounding it. This may have been due to a devastating infestation of boll weevils that hit Alabama's cotton crops starting in 1892 and covering the entire state by 1916. Crops were destroyed year after year, farmers were forced to sell land, and sharecroppers and tenant farmers were pushed off or left the land in search of better opportunities. But through that challenge, or whatever caused them to move, Solomon and Ardenia were still together.

Solomon Harris' World War I Draft Registration Card, 1918

Unfortunately, this is the last record that I have been able to find for Solomon. We know from Ardenia’s obituary that Solomon passes away before her, and we know that by 1930 Ardenia and her teenage daughters are living together in Jefferson County, where Ardenia makes her living operating a boarding house. Finally, we know that she remarries in 1935 and moves north to Kewanee, Illinois in the 1940s. I can’t find anyone in this family in the 1920 census, so that gap between 1918 and 1930 unfortunately can’t be filled right now.

But at least we're able to capture a few snapshots of their life together - their union, hard work, children, change. Perhaps with time, luck, and more research, we'll be able to flesh this out further.

Do you know something I don't about Solomon and Ardenia? Please share!

Wedding Wednesday: Beatrice Harris to Steve Evans (aka Theodore Johnson)

Today’s post is inspired by the Wedding Wednesday genealogy blog prompt over at Geneabloggers.

Two Wednesdays ago, I posted the marriage record for my great-grandmother Beatrice Harris to her second husband, Raymond Montgomery West. This week, I’m focusing on her marriage to her first husband, Steve Evans. This is the man from whom I am descended, through their daughter, my grandmother.

If you knew my great-grandfather, or even if you just read the headline of this post, you might be thinking, Steve Evans? Who’s that? That’s what I was thinking, too, when I came across this marriage record several years ago:

Now, actually, my grandmother had given me something to go on already. She said that her father had changed his name to Evans because he’d gotten into some kind of trouble in Alabama. So, okay, he changed to Evans, this guy was an Evans, maybe we’re on the right track, but we’re looking for an absolute yes, here.

I let it go for a while, while I focused on other things. Frankly, I try not to pester my Grandma about genealogy things – she’s a busy lady and I don’t want to “wear out my welcome.” Sometimes I go hard and then need to give people a break!

But, I did eventually ask her one day, saying that I’d found this record – what did she make of it. Insert face-palm, because why didn’t I just ask her sooner?? "Yep," she said, "that’s my dad!" Me: "Where’d the Steve come from?" Her: "He changed his whole name! I told you what happened, right?" Turns out that the trouble he got into may have involved someone losing their life, necessitating him changing his whole name to stay out of trouble.

Let me be clear: This was a black man in 1930s Alabama we’re talking about. We don’t know the circumstances. We don’t know what, or if anything, actually happened. There is no judgment here, only a shred of memory and a willing listener/researcher. And it is a story I plan on researching. If I find anything, you’ll know! But it will be in the vein of information, not judgment.

Theodore Johnson, my father's mother's father.

Okay, so back to this record! My grandmother confirms that Steve Evans is indeed Theodore Johnson, or, I guess, that Theodore Johnson, was in fact, at one point in time, Steve Evans. So, what does this marriage record tell us? Most importantly, that Steve/Theodore and Beatrice were married on August 15, 1933 by Reverend C.W. Steward (or Stewart) in Birmingham, Alabama.

Interestingly, there are some inconsistencies on this document. For example, it says that Steve/Theodore is 22 years old and Beatrice is 21. But, if Beatrice was born in April of 1915, she was actually only 18 when the marriage took place. I’m pretty sure she was of a legal age to marry, so why the incorrect info? Other documents give Theodore’s birth year as 1914 or 1915, so why is he listed as 22? My guess is that at 18, he was considered underage and perhaps did not want to ask his parents for permission to marry. Maybe inflating both of their ages just made things easier?

In any case, according to available records, Steve/Theodore and Beatrice began building a family together even before they married in 1933 – five of her children born between 1931 and 1940 carry his name. And during this period the family moved – in at least 2 stages – from Jefferson County, Alabama to Powhatan Point in Belmont County, Ohio (along the Ohio River), essentially from one coal mining community to another. (In fact, it's likely they met in the coal mining town Beatrice was living in in 1930.) It was probably a tough life, and – perhaps because of this, or perhaps for other reasons – Beatrice and Theodore faced challenges in their relationship that, as we know, eventually led to their divorce sometime prior to 1947.

With help from family - and especially her sister, Lillian - Beatrice endured, even when times were hard. And we know that Steve, who was definitely Theodore Johnson by 1937, when he filled out an application to receive a Social Security Number, went on as well. He moved to West Virginia, where he continued to work in coal mining, was a member of Zion Temple AME Zion Church, and lived to the age of 71, before passing on October 26, 1986.

I have MANY questions about the life of Steve Evans / Theodore Johnson and it’s going to take a lot of sleuthing to find answers. Here’s one tidbit that I’m excited about: Remember I wrote above that Steve and Beatrice probably met in the coal mining town of Majestic, where we know she was living in 1930? The reason I believe this is the case is because, just a few pages away from Beatrice and her family in the 1930 census, there’s this:

That’s a 16-year-old Steve Evans, Jr living with a woman named Janie Mae Baker, with another teenager in the household named Henry Evans. Stay tuned for additional posts where I continue to piece together the story of Steve Evans/Theodore Johnson!

Fun Finds on the West Family!

In yesterday’s Wedding Wednesday post, I introduced my great-grandmother Beatrice Harris’ second husband Raymond Montgomery West. Well, I really should be spacing out my blog posts more, but I think these next two records are so cool that I want to share them right now. Like, right now!

Check this out: This is the birth register for Jefferson County, Ohio, kept by the Jefferson County Probate Court.

"Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRMH-L5P : accessed 4 February 2016), Samuel West in entry for Carl West, 06 Dec 1889; citing Birth, Smithfield, Jefferson, Ohio, reference p 362, county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 900,039.

Look who it is – Ray West…and a brother, Carl! Both were born to Samuel West and Sallie Ray, who we saw named on Ray’s marriage certificate. Carl is the older of the two, having been born December 6, 1889. Ray followed along about a year and a half later, on April 16, 1891. How neat is it to see this written out?

But wait, there’s more!

So, Samuel West and Sallie Ray? Well, they got married on July 25, 1889. How do we know? Bam!

"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZPV-FKQ : accessed 4 February 2016), Samuel West and Sallie Ray, 25 Jul 1889; citing Jefferson, Ohio, United States, reference p 450; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 900,075.

They were married in Smithfield, Jefferson County, Ohio by a Minister of the Peace.

So, my West family, if your parent and my grandmother are siblings, this is the marriage certificate for your great-grandparents. And if your grandmom or granddad is the sibling of my grandmom, Sam and Sallie are your great-great-grandparents!

Not only that, but if Samuel West was 23 years old in 1889, that means he was born in 1863. Which means that he was...born during the Civil War!! (Sorry, I get a little enthused!)

Even though I’m not descended from the Wests, I still think this is super exciting!

P.S. Contact me if you'd like a larger digital version of the marriage document,  which will be easier to read, or just pull it from the web, using the link in the caption box.

Wedding Wednesday: Beatrice Harris and Ray M. West

Today’s post is inspired by the Wedding Wednesday genealogy blog prompt over at Geneabloggers.

On this Wedding Wednesday, I am highlighting the marriage of my great-grandmother Beatrice Harris to her second husband, Raymond Montgomery West. Below is their legal marriage record from the Probate Court of Belmont County, Ohio, including their approved application for a marriage license and their marriage certificate itself. They were wed by a Justice of the Peace in St. Clairsville on September 23, 1947.

Note: This document gives Player as Beatrice's last name. This is the last name of her mother Ardenia's second husband, Tim, who had been married to Ardenia since 1935, when Beatrice was 20.

 A few things we know about Mr. Ray (as my Dad knew him):

• He was a native of Ohio, having been born in Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson County, to Samuel West and Sarah (Sally/Sallie) Ray.

• He is 24 years older than his new wife, she having been born in 1915 and he in 1891. (23 years, 11 months and 29 days, if you want to be precise!)

• He was a mill worker at the time of their marriage, and had spent much of his adult life working for iron and steel mills and the coal mining industry in the Ohio River Valley (Powhatan Point, OH; Moundsville and Weirton, WV)

My branch of the family is actually not descended from Mr. Ray – we are descended, through my grandmother, from Great-Grandma Beatrice’s first husband, Steve Evans (also known as Theodore Johnson – we’ll get to that in another post). But Mr. Ray fathered 4 children with GG Beatrice and they (and their descendents) are as much my family as anyone else! Mr. Ray is the only companion my father knew for his grandmother. He married my great-grandmother when she was the divorced mother of 6 children who were not his and in a difficult financial place. They remained together until his passing in 1971.

Family, do you have any pictures of Mr. Ray, or of Mr. Ray and Beatrice together? Any memories or stories you’d like to share about him and his personality? Please share!

Wedding Wednesday: Louis and Elnora (Cooper) Shepherd

Today’s post is inspired by the Wedding Wednesday genealogy blog prompt over at Geneabloggers.

Louis And Elnora (Cooper) Shepherd with their oldest two children. 

 

 

One of my favorite family history nuggets is the fact that my maternal grandfather literally fell in love with the girl next door. (Or maybe it’s my grandmother that fell in love with the boy next door.) Either way, it’s definitely the fact that in a world (or at least a city) full of possibilities and potential mates, these two individuals - a girl from rural Georgia whose family came up during the Great Migration, and a boy who was born and raised in busy DC - ended up as next door neighbors, then husband and wife, and then parents to 5 children, including my mother.

Genealogical Serendipity: Marriage in the Morning

I absolutely believe in genealogical serendipity. Every now and then, that thing you’ve been looking for, that record you wanted, or maybe even something that hadn’t even crossed your mind in a while – it’ll just pop up in front of you! I think it’s because – and I truly believe this – our ancestors want to be found.

Well this morning, I woke up and, like I do every day, started tooling around on the interwebs, visiting some of my favorite sites. At least once a week, I check out Dick Eastman’s super useful blog, Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, for the news, notes and updates he is always posting. So today, as I’m scrolling through, I come across an announcement about the newest updates to FamilySearch.org’s collections. Top of the list: Alabama County Marriages 1809 – 1950.

Well, hey, I know my paternal roots are in Alabama, let me just go check this out. Cool, calm, and collected. Used to being disappointed.