My Family Tree is Full of Nuts

Right now I am aggravated , angry, sad and as we say in the South ” mad as two wet hens.”

This year marks my twentieth eighth year of genealogy. I LOVE GENEALOGY, I love the hunt, I love visiting cemeteries and admiring the tombstones from hundreds of years ago. I like think about the people that are in the ground, are they in wooden coffins or are they in a fancy coffin, what type of life they had,  were they rich were they poor. If it was a woman she possibly had children and grandchildren did she wear an apron, cook apple pies, wash her clothes on a rub board and then hang out on the lines to dry?  Was she a skinny woman or one of those fat fluffy women that we all loved to crawl up in those kind of grannies lap and smell the scent of powder that she perfumed herself with while she hugged us and gave us a million kisses.   Was PawPaw a farmer, or did he work at the bank, wear overalls, chew tobacco or dress up in a suit, tie and hat?  You get the idea, if you have ever visited one while you were researching you know exactly what I am talking about.  Today I visited one in Northeast AL, Piedmont, AL to be exact and I am very sad for a lot of reasons. You see this one was damaged and it is very old.

Some of the early settlers of the area are buried here. I saw a lot of beer bottles , broken tombstones, turned over tombstones, potato chip bags , soda bottles and golf balls.Time did not break these tombstones. SOME TRASH OF A CRIMINAL DID THIS. Who does this kind of activity? Who is so much of a low of a life and bored that they feel they have to go in a cemetery to cause destruction? CRIMINALS, TRASH, SCUM OF THE EARTH.

I want you to look at these pictures at what some heathen did.  Why would ANYONE want to desecrate a cemetery?  It broke my heart. Can it be corrected? Can someone help restore this old cemetery back to what it should be or does no one really care anymore?

What really should happen here is some company donate a fence, enclose the property and the citizens whether it be a Girl Scout/Boy Scout or some church organization should go here and clean this place up. Someone should volunteer to keep it cleaned up. This is families, people that used to walk the earth.  I’d even suggest the city let the jail workers go up there and clean it up.  I tried to stand up as many tombstones as I could and it truly was sad and I am very angry that people would do this and then no one will correct it. My husband Gary said “you have been in 1000’s of cemeteries all over the USA and this one by far has been the worst one.”

One day it will be “Oh I think there used to be a cemetery there.” Reason being, it will either be overrun with weeds, bushes and someone will have totally destroyed the place.

I lived my early life in this area until I graduated a long time ago. I was shocked and saddened that this type of thing happened. NEVER would anyone of my era even think of this. I am coming back soon with some chalk going to the place, documenting every stone that is there for future generations of researchers. I hope to see it in better shape .

John Taylor was born June 5, 1883 in Cleburne County, AL .  He was the son of James M.(JimRoe) Taylor and Susan Garmon.

John married Laura Agnes Jackson 23 December 1905 in Choccolocco, Calhoun Co Alabama.  John died March 1, 1958 in Oxford, Calhoun County, AL and he is buried in White Plains, AL at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery.

Laura Agnes Jackson Taylor was the daughter of Millard Jackson and Fannie Williams. Laura was born 3 Feb 1890 in Dekalb Co, AL

She died 25 May 1953 in Oxford, Calhoun Co, AL and is buried at Harmony Cemetery in White Plains, AL

The Children of this union were Sadie Mae Taylor (Fitzpatrick)  Minnie Leee Taylor (Faulkner)  Cleve Gay Taylor, Russell Harvey Taylor, Ethel Taylor(Reaves)  Alton Paul Taylor, Pauline Taylor (Williams)  Hellen Taylor (Smith)  Ellen Taylor (Burke)  Willard O’dell Taylor.

If any of you have any of the following information or connections to this family which is my direct line please contact me, Chris Epps Wheeler at SadieMaesAttic@aol.com

Eugenia Brown Taylor , wife of Cleve Taylor, died April 21, 2003 in Anniston, AL She was born 20 March 1915.

Former Athens Man Dies in City Of Atlanta  (typed as written)

Mr. Thoms Lilly, aged Sixty-Six Years, Passed Away Yesterday and Will be Buried Here.

The following is from the Atlanta Journal of last night:

Mr. Thomas Lilly age 66, died at the residence of his niece Mrs. J.C. Dennard, 1043 East Fair Street, early Wednesday morning. He is survived by his wife; one son Emmett Lilly, of Bostwick, GA and a daughter; Mr. A.G. Fitzpatrick of Bogart, GA . He also leaves one sister Mrs. G.W. Mabry and one brother Robert Lilly of Athens, GA. The body was taken to Athens, GA his old home and the funeral and burial will be there.

The remains will reach this city this morning on the 10 o’clock train nd will be met at the station but a number of friends, carried immediately to Oconee Cemetery, where the burial will take place.

Born  17 April 1845  Athens, Clarke County, Ga

Died 20 October 1910, Atlanta GA  Buried Oconee Cemetery, Athens, GA

I am looking for Myra Watkins that lived in Sandersville, GA  in 2000.. She was a Fitzpatrick researcher.

Myra contact me at SadieMaesAttic@aol.com    Thanks  Chris Wheeler

Gilford Silas Fitzpatrick

Born 1854 inMadisonCounty, GA

Died  8 November 1928 inAthens,Clarke County,Georgia

Obituary:

Mr. Fitzpatrick, well known here, died Thursday. Mr. G.S. Fitzpatrick died Thursday night at his residence,420 Madison Avenue. He was ill for five weeks.

Funeral services will be conducted Saturday morning at 10 o’clock by Reverend S.B. Wingfield, pastor of theWest EndBaptistChurch, assisted by Rev. B.F.Elliott.

Interment will be in theBucannan Cemetery,Winterville Road. McDorman-Bridges funeral home in charge.

The pallbearers will be Messrs. D.A. Carruth, O.H. Arnold, Emmett Wier, R.A. Burpee, Tyler Rivers and Charlie Carruth.

The funeral services will be held at the residence.

Mr. Fitzpatrick was a retired merchant and well known inAthens. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Hattie Fitzpatrick, five daughters, Mrs. J. Walker Smith,Atlanta; Mrs. J.A. Parks, Atlanta; Mrs. B.F. Smith, Athens; Mrs. W.I. Stafford, Summerville; a son, Mr. J.E. Fitzpatrick, Atlanta; a brother Mr. H.R. Fitzpatrick, Athens, several nieces and nephews and ten grandchildren. Mr. Fitzpatrick as a native of Madison County.

Edward was my 4th great grandfather.

Edward was born in 1813 in Enniskillen, Ireland. He ended up in Athens, Georgia. He died April 19, 1889 and is buried in Oconee Cemetery in Athens, Georgia. He was a stonemason.

Edward was married to Sarah Ann Smith.

Click here to see Edward’s work. http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/BS-LH.html

1880 Census Pennsylvania, Upland, Delaware Co, PA

Looking for any information on my Gr Gr Grandfather

Thomas Cohen  Age 48  Place of Birth, Ireland, parents place of birth, Ireland

Catherine  Wife  Age 44  Place of Birth Ireland, parents place of birth, Ireland

Children of this union and they all were born in Pennsylvania

William T.  Age 23

Lizzie    Age 21

James  Age 19

Robert  Age 16

John  Age 13

Henry  Age 10

Maggie 8  She was my great grandmother and she was Margaret Jane

Noble  Age 6

Alfred  Age 2

ANYBODY WITH ANY CONNECTIONS ON THE ABOVE.

Please contact me at SadieMaesAttic@aol.com  with Cowan in the subject.

I have a request.  I started researching our family tree over 24 years ago. Aunt Margaret had a big box of pictures and one was of this heavy lady, but attractive. I was looking at the picture and Aunt Margaret stated that she was Uncle George Rice Vanzant’s wife Maggie Evans who was an actress of sorts back long ago.

Uncle George was a stage hand. I have various pictures of him with other workers. He even makes reference he was in one play.

George came back to Anniston, AL where he died many years ago. I have often wondered if he had a wife. Today I found the information I had been looking for. 

George Rice Vanzant was married to Margaret Evans. 1930 he was 36 and Margaret was 34. They were living in Manhattan, NY with her two children from a previous marriage and her father who was from Germany.  The children are Chester Evans age 14 and Richard J. Evans age 12 and John Reinhardt age 68.

Margaret’s first husband and the father of her two sons was Earnest Evans.

Anyone have any information on this group please contact me at SadieMaesAttic@aol.com

THANKS AND HAPPY HUNTING!