Monday, November 30, 2015

A Call for Personal Family Histories.

Beginning in January I will be posting a series on the Church 100 years ago in Tennessee. I have been able to collect quite bit from 1916 based on official records, newspapers, and the like. But one piece I am having problems collecting are details about the members in Tennessee. They didn't write as many journals or leave much of a trail.

With that in mind I'd like to make the following appeal. If you have family that were members of the Church in Tennessee in 1916. I'd be very interested in who they were and what you know about them. A journal or some letters would be perfect, but I'm not very optimistic about finding very much like that. What I think would be more likely is something like "My great aunt joined the Church in Nashville back around that time but we don't know much more than that." Every little bit helps.

Similarly I'd be interested in the same for any year, but for a little bit I will be focusing on just one year. Why? I'll have to take a moment or two to explain that as we get closer to 2016. But I will say it has nothing to do with any great or momentous event that made the year stand out. It was just another year with real people doing ordinary things.

Part of the process will involve the use of social media to create the sense of what it was like. There will be missionary stories, conversion stories, even a few hints of practices we do now that were already part of the landscape 100 years ago. The bulk of it will be here in my blog. But there will also be shorter more frequent snippets on Twitter. So if you are not already following me on Twitter (see the link on the left), I encourage you to do so.

Finally I am hoping a few of you will have found this page because you were searching the Web for hints about an ancestor. To that end I will post a list of names at the bottom of this page. If that name brings you here, let me know. I'm sure there will be more we can share with each other.


Baptisms
Atkinson, Mary Ada
Atkinson, Samuel
Baker, Benjamin B
Baker, David Olsen
Baker, Henderson
Baker, Hilda
Baker, Kathie P
Bedwell, Andrew
Benson, Ellen Bell Bryant
Bethany, Beulah May
Bigham, Katy
Box, Daisy, Bell
Brown (Morgan), Willma Eva
Brown, Jessie Samuel
Brown, Nancy Etta
Browning, Minnie
Bryant (Bohannon), Minnie
Bucham, Katy
Clark, Jessie Gladys
Cook, Herman
Cook, Isadore
Frazier, Lycindia
Frazier, Sussie
Fry, Beatress Edna
Fry, Rebecca Fairy May
Gambrell, James
Greenfield, Gabe Thomas S
Greenfield, Leland Wm
Grunch, Gwyn Fannie
Heine, Sarah Ann
Hickey, Pius M
Holland, E   
Jakes, Neva
Johnston, Floe
Keeling Willie
Keeling, Brandan
Keeling, Sues
Keeling, William F
Kirby, Jenett Ivy
Kirby, Jesse Suesy
Lee (Thomas), Lue
Lee, Magnolia
Loftis, Viola M
Low, Mary C N
McMahan, Sylvania
Moon, Sallie J
Neal, John T
Northerton, Lillie
Phillips, Ella Z
Prat, Guy C
Prat, Marsian Dawg
Prater, Ida Bell
Prater, Mary Elton
Prater, Olie Lance
Price, Alice
Rawlins, Dovie
Robinson, Louvina
Rogers (Philpot), Eula Mai
Rogers, Harold W
Schoolcroft, Chalerie Dona
Schoolcroft, Geo Custer
Schoolcroft, Manila Bay
Schoolcroft, Nannie
Shelton, Martha
Smith (Reed), Martha E
Smith, Ray Geo
Solomon, William Walter
Southand, Alto Claus
Southand, Ray Rogers
Stepp, Thomas
Talley, Alma Ray
Talley, Benjamin, Orson
Troglin, Mary Elvira
Turner, Lee
Turner, Tom Lee
Vice, Wm M
Weams, Jas Ozmo
Weams, Mary Louisia
Wiggleton, Annie Ruth
Williams, Bertha A
Williams, Effie L
Wilson, Afton Eliz.
Wilson, Ida Bell Haston
Wilson, Linnie Jane

Missionaries
Clarence Hyrum Yates
John Hendry Stevenson Jr
Francis Samuel Lundell
Thomas Wilson
Harvey Dalton
William Stanton Hamblin
Henry Child
George William Barrus
Nels Ursel Anderson
Joseph Edward Ward
Charles Wilford Jensen
Francis VanNoy Smith
Silas Whitney Ward
Joseph Earl Burrup
Melvin John Rudd
Merlin Grant Shumway
Alvin Verd Washburn
Joseph F Ray
Murl Hunter Gibson
James Albert Muir
Mabel Jane Pettit
Rosa Nellie Rindlisbacher
Charles Cliford Robertson
Samuel Erven Rockwood
Ole Andrew Peterson
Hyrum Workman
Casey Leovon Bowen
Joseph F Meacham
James Baron
Alma Pace
Lewis George Winter
Charles L Flake Jr
Hyrum Earnest Leavitt
Judson L Tolman
Walter Gordon Willis
Loran J Blain
Newel Jensen Horsley
Ernest Frederick Zaugg
Clara Marie Peterson
Ethelene Folds Varley
John Henry Jensen
Ivy Jane Erickson
Alonzo H Price

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Bigham, Box & Browning were probably baptized at Turkey Creek (Humphreys County) TN.

Bruce said...

Yes, I have a baptism from each of those families in 1916. Look for a post next year just on the Turkey Creek branch. But all three of those girls were living in Waverly when they were baptized instead of in Turkey Creek. Any guesses why?

Unknown said...

Generically, Humphreys County towns would have been Waverly, Johnsonville (New Johnsonville after the dam was built on the Tennessee River to create Kentucky Lake) and McEwen. Turkey Creek is about 8 miles north of Waverly. Plus anyone living in Houston and Humphreys County were members of the Turkey Creek Branch until a building was purchased in Waverly and the Branch was renamed the Waverly Branch. The building for the Turkey Creek Branch was sold as a home and a couple of years later burned.

Bruce said...

I can see that. At the time the Church used rural delivery post office in the place of an address on membership records for nearly everyone except for "city dwellers." I could see Waverly as being the closest post office to Turkey Creek. I'll have to look that up.

Unknown said...

I forgot to add that the move from Turkey Creek meetinghouse to the new meetinghouse in Waverly happened in 1980.

gscoulson said...

Very cool, this sounds like it's going to be a TwHistory style recreation. I've thought about doing that for a WWII diary I have access to. Excited to participate!

Bruce said...

Yes, that is my plan. I hope you like it.