52 Ancestors: IN and OUT of the Census

This week’s theme for the 52 Ancestors challenge is “In the Census.” When I started the challenge, my plan was to update my Frazier line by focusing on the children of John and Lucy Frazier IN ORDER. Instead of moving on, I will take a detour this week to revisit Keziah Frazier Morris’s line. My recent discovery while updating her information demonstrates a good lesson in looking at who is IN a census and who is NOT to help solve a mystery.

While adding Keziah’s children and grandchildren to my database, I found one juicy little death record for her granddaughter’s husband.

 

Death certificate for Houston Morris
from Ancestry.com

The granddaughter was Elenora, daughter of Keziah and Lively’s daughter Mary Ann “Polly” Morris and husband Valentine Roach. Judging by the census records, Elenora Roach and Houston Morris very likely grew up near one another in the Monroe district of Greene County, Virginia. They married 17 August 1890. By 1900, they had 6 children with at least 2 more in the next decade. Like their neighbors, they were general farmers.

By 1920 Houston and Elenora were no longer living together although in the census of that year, both claimed to be married. Elenora had the children. Houston had his mother and a number of boarders. While separate residence implies divorce or pending divorce, perhaps his 80-year old mother needed a caretaker and he was the likely candidate. After all, nine years later, Elenora (or “Ella”) was recorded as the wife of the deceased Houston Morris.

In 1929, Houston Morris was killed. “Throat cut. Homicide.”

Where? “Home of neighbor.”

I had no choice but to take a look at that 1920 census again to see who might have taken Houston’s life. Near Houston were other Morris families, some Breedens, a couple Shifletts for good measure - all names of families that had inhabited the mountains for generations - but nothing stood out to raise my suspicions. No red flags.

That is when my newspapers.com subscription came to the rescue. Two articles dated August 23 and 29, 1929 provided the details. Houston was murdered allegedly by Louis Roach at the McDaniel house, which in 1920 was not very far from Elenora’s home which was also not far from Houston and his mother’s. 

from Danville Bee 23 Aug 1929
accessed on Newspapers.com

Arrest Made in Fatal Stabbing; Denial is Made

Harrisonburg, VA Aug 22 (AP) - Louis Roach, 45, is being held in the Greene county jail at Stanardsville in connection with the stabbing to death of Houston Morris, 58, during an alleged brawn [sic] last Saturday night, reports received here today from Stanardsville said. Roach denies any knowledge of the stabbing as do Zack McDaniel, 80, and John McDaniel, son of Zack, at whose home the stabbing is alleged to have occurred.

Mrs. John McDaniel found the lifeless body of Morris in a field, it was said, as she returned from milking. Morris had been stabbed in the breast and throat. Roach and the McDaniels were asleep when Sheriff Russ Malone of Greene county arrived. A blood-stained knife was said to have been found on Roach, this leading to his arrest.

from Danville Bee 29 Aug 1929
accessed on Newspapers.com

Roach Denies Stabbing

Gordonsville, Va, Aug 28 (AP) - No date has been set, it was said today for a preliminary hearing for Louis Roach, 45, who is being held in the Greene county jail in connection with the stabbing to death of Houston Morris, 58, during an alleged drunken brawl on the night of August 17.

The stabbing occurred in the home of John McDaniel, a neighbor of both Roach and Morris. The three mountain homes are located just off the Spotswood Trail at the top of the Blue Ridge mountains.

Roach maintains that he knows nothing of the stabbing, as do his companions at the McDaniel home, Zach Daniel, aged 89, and his son John McDaniel. All three admit that they were drinking during the evening with Morris, but remember nothing of any altercation, officers said.

So, who was this Louis Roach?

A search for “Louis Roach” on Ancestry revealed a marriage certificate that made my jaw drop. Louis Roach was none other than Charles LEWIS Roach, Elenora’s baby brother. Well, wuddayaknow!

If The Danville Bee carried a follow-up story about a trial or conviction, then newspapers.com did not post it. Maybe the 1930 census would provide an indication. Sure enough, in 1930, Louis Roach was not in the Greene County census. His wife Clacie was listed as head of household. Yet she did not know whether they owned or rented the house. Right next door was John McDaniel.

Louis’s absence from the census is a good indication that he was likely found guilty and sentenced to time in jail. My suspicions were confirmed when I found a transcription of a news article attached to a tree for Houston Morris on Ancestry. No doubt the citizens of Greene County were very interested in the trial of Louis Roach. On November 21, 1929, the Greene County Register reported the trial lasted two days, but it took the jury only an hour to find Louis Roach guilty and to sentence him to 15 years in the penitentiary.

So, did Louis serve a full sentence? The 1940 census provided the answer: he was a free man living in neighboring Albemarle County as head of household and working for the WPA. Six of seven children lived there too, the youngest being ages 6 and 4. The 1940 census asked about residence in 1935 to which Louis replied that he lived in the same house. That plus the ages of the youngest children indicates Louis did not serve 15 years. Maybe he served 5.

Oh the irony that in the Frazier family there are two instances of men killing their sister’s husband.

Wendy

© 2018, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Got You Covered

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt is of the Vice-Regal Lodge boudoir in Dublin, Ireland. What a fun spot for women to gather and refresh themselves in comfortable chairs, read a magazine, and wonder how a palm tree survived there in the corner. Apparently a flurry of ladies had just left, judging by the disheveled appearance of those slipcovers.

When I was growing up, my mother frequently made slipcovers to update our furniture or to fit into a new paint scheme. 

Large blue medallions with scenes were replaced with floral stripes
sister and Dad on the left; sister and boyfriend on the right

My grandmother also changed her slipcovers from time to time prolonging the life of a worn sofa or favorite chair. 

Shades of what? mulberry? pink? rose? 
My mother and me 1955

I followed their lead after ten years of sitting on red pheasants and fruit.

 

Before and after - 1973 and 1983
same sofa, different people
Me in 1973; my mother, Daughter 1 holding Daughter 2 in 1983

Like most people, we added slipcovers as a permanent solution. My grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker, however, changed slipcovers with the season.

Helen's living room in winter
I do not know the man and woman on the extreme left and right.
In the middle are my paternal grandparents Julia and Fred Slade
along with Granny's sister Catherine Barany. 

In the fall and winter, her sofa and chairs went naked. The tapestry upholstery on the sofa and the velvet on the chairs were dark and warm. Maroon oriental rugs covered her floors. The décor always made Helen’s living room feel cozy even in the dreary months.

Helen's living room in spring

In spring, out came the slipcovers in cool cotton. Floral patterns in soft shades of grey-green and pink brightened the living room. The oriental rugs were rolled up and replaced with a large jute rug. So fresh, so light, even if the windows were not open. “Breath of fresh air” is cliché but appropriate.

Helen's living room in spring

There was a time when changing slipcovers and rugs with the season was common, at least in the South. I doubt anyone does that anymore. Too much work. No place to store things. Now I am lucky if I think to swap out throw pillows and change the wreath on the front door.

Come sit a spell in the Sepia Saturday boudoir and enjoy some good stories.

Wendy

© 2018, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: Dinner with Keziah Frazier

This week the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge asks whom we would invite to dinner. Keziah Frazier, daughter of John Frazier and Lucy Shiflett, might make an interesting guest. Although she did not live to see her half-brother Leland Shiflett/Frazier face a murder charge, she might be able to share other interesting stories about him. Certainly she could also solve the mystery of her mother Lucy and Lucy’s first marriage. Maybe Keziah even knew her grandparents and could tell me their names.

If Keziah had other fascinating tales to share, they have likewise been taken to the grave. Like many women of her day, she married, gave birth to a large number of children, and took care of the house while her husband farmed. Like too many women, Keziah died in 1855 from “childbed disease” after the birth of her ninth child.

Keziah’s husband Lively Morris, on the other hand, certainly lived up to his name. In September 1869, he and their son George Fountain Morris and other well-known citizens of the county were arrested for “illicit distilling.”

from Richmond Daily Dispatch 14 Sep 1869
accessed on Chronicling America

WHOLESALE ARREST OF ILLICIT DISTELLERS --Special Deputy Marshal Graham arrived in this city last evening with the following prisoners, charged with illicit distilling. They are residents of Greene, Madison, and adjoining counties, and were arrested on complaint of Supervisor Presbrey. They were taken before United States Commissioner Chahoon immediately upon their arrival and bailed for their appearance before him at 12 o’clock today: Lively Morris, Herndon Shiflett, Joab Watson, Walker Frazier [Keziah’s brother], J. Morris Harden, Calvin Morris, George F. Morris, Grattan Haney, William T. Simms, B. A. McMullen, D. H. Wheeler, and J. W. Martin.  

Richmond Daily Dispatch 14 Sep 1869

Family of Keziah FRAZIER and Lively MORRIS:

Keziah FRAZIER (1811 Albemarle Co, VA- 08 Oct 1855 Greene Co, VA) and Lively MORRIS (1812 - c 1890 Greene Co, VA) m. 27 Nov 1838 Greene County, VA

1. Leland T. MORRIS (1840 Greene Co, VA - 23 May 1864 Fayetteville, WV)
2. Noah Jackson MORRIS (12 Aug 1842 Greene Co, VA - 12 Jan 1928 Greene Co, VA) and Rachel MORRIS (09 May 1845 Greene Co, VA - 13 Nov 1932 Greene Co)  m. 25 Jan 1866 Greene Co, VA
3. Durrett MORRIS (Sep 1844 Greene Co, VA - 1898 Rockingham Co, VA) and Sarah Elizabeth CRAWFORD (Mar 1850 Rockingham County, VA - 1926 ) m. 07 Feb 1867 Rockingham Co, VA
4. Susan MORRIS (May 1845 Greene Co, VA - 21 Aug 1916 Elkton, VA) and Charles W. HERRING (1839 Greene Co, VA - after 1910) m. 14 Mar 1867 Greene Co, VA  
5. Mary Ann "Polly" MORRIS (Aug 1847 Greene Co, VA - 1945 Greene Co, VA) and Valentine ROACH (1841 in Rockingham County, VA - 31 Aug 1920 Greene Co, VA) m. 04 Nov 1865 Greene County, VA
6. George Fountain MORRIS (Oct 1848 Greene Co, VA - 08 May 1914 Greene Co, VA) and m1) Kitty Margarett SHIFLETT (1850 Greene Co, VA - Nov 1892 Greene Co, VA) m. 28 Dec 1869 Greene Co, VA ; m2) Drucilla FRAZIER (c 1850 - ) m. 15 May 1894 Rockingham Co, VA
7. Nancy France MORRIS (May 1852 Greene Co, VA - 07 Oct 1935 Greene Co, VA) and m1) John Elsie SHIFFLET (16 Mar 1849 Greene Co, VA -21 Mar 1922 Albemarle Co, VA) m. 20 Jan 1870 Greene Co, VA ; m2) Austin Jackson FRAZIER (Jun 1855 Albemarle Co, VA - Dec 1921 Greene Co, VA) m. 02 Mar 1876 Greene Co, VA
8. Sarah Elizabeth MORRIS (1853 Greene Co, VA - after 1930 Greene Co, VA) and George Nathaniel MORRIS (Aug 1850 Greene Co, VA - 1918 Greene Co, VA) m. 28 Sep 1871 in Greene Co, VA
9. Kesiah Jane MORRIS (04 Dec 1854 Greene Co, VA - 06 Dec 1929 Doylesville, Albemarle Co, VA) and Henry Clay KEYTON (1853 Albemarle Co, VA - 14 Mar 1915 Albemarle Co, VA) m. 29 Dec 1874 Greene, VA

Wendy

© 2018, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Grave Expressions

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt does my heart good. Cemeteries. Glorious cemeteries! If you’re a family historian, you are required to love cemeteries. It’s a rule, trust me, and I follow it devotedly. Small family cemeteries tucked into a corner of a field or fenced off next to a highway always demand my attention. Large cemeteries are equally fascinating because they represent entire families and communities. I wanted to write about my favorite cemetery, but I just could not slight the others, each of which has its own personality and charm. Instead, let’s look at the symbolic carvings of my relatives’ and ancestors’ tombstones.

ARCHES represent a doorway to salvation as well as being rejoined with a partner in heaven.

John Jollett and Sarah Elizabeth
Smith Jollett
Jollett Cemetery, Page Co, VA

 

Susan Clementine Shiflett
and Austin Morris
Evergreen Cemetery, Greene Co, VA

JohnWesley Rucker
Elk Run Cemetery Elkton, VA

BIBLE or OPEN BOOK can be the Bible itself reflecting one’s faith and Christian devotion. The Bible is often used on graves of clergy. (Note: there is a Bible in the Jollett tombstone because John was a Methodist minister.) An open book can also suggest a person’s good deeds being recorded in the Book of Life.

Benjamin and Fleeta Davis
Elk Run Cemetery Elkton, VA

The Davis stone combines other symbols including praying hands and flowers.

Ben Davis's sister Cora Davis
Elk Run Cemetery, Elkton, VA

BIRD / DOVE is the messenger of God. A bird in flight represents the soul being transported to heaven. A dove holding an olive branch symbolizes the soul reaching divine peace.

Mary F. Davis
Elk Run Cemetery
Elkton, VA

BROKEN BUD is used on graves of someone who died an untimely or premature death, usually a young person. In this case, the grave is that of Mary, the sister of Cora and Ben Davis. The graves of Cora and Mary are back to back. 

CHI-RHO (XP) is one of the oldest Christian symbols. The X and P or Chi and Rho are the first two letters in the Greek word for Christ. The symbol is set in a circle which is another motif of gravestones signifying eternal life because circles have no beginning and no end.

Anthony Jacob Henkel
St. Michael's Lutheran Church
Philadelphia, PA

DOUBLE STONES are an obvious suggestion of being united with a partner in heaven.

 

Richard and Rosa Lee Slade
Olive Branch Cemetery Portsmouth, VA

Margaret and "Jack" Srott
Forest Lawn Cemetery Norfolk, VA

My grandaunt Margaret Killeen Sprott's tombstone combines several symbols in addition to the double stones. The heart is an obvious symbol of love. Margaret's stone includes the Christian cross denoting her Christian faith. Jack's stone includes the square and compass signifying he was a member of the Masons.

FLOWERS represent the brevity of life and sorrow. Some flowers have other specific meanings.

DAFFODIL because it blooms in spring is sometimes used to represent rebirth and resurrection.

Ben and Bertha Knight Shifflett
Evergreen Cemetery, Greene Co, VA

DOGWOOD is symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice (the dark edges on the petal correspond to the blood shed on the cross) and rebirth. Thus it is a resurrection symbol for new life in heaven.

Thelma Hockman and Lacy Sarver
Sunset Cemetery Christiansburg, VA

IVY denotes friendship, fidelity, and rebirth. (Have you ever tried to get rid of ivy in your yard?) 

William J. Sampson
Stanardsville Public Cemetery
Stanardsville, VA

LAUREL is a common symbol of victory and distinction, so in death it denotes victory over death, therefore, immortality.

Annie Eppard
Hensley Cemetery
Rockingham Co, VA

James Henry Jollett
Harriston United Methodist
Church Cemetery

MORNING GLORY represents the beginning of life. For  Christians, life in heaven is the beginning.

Frank Rucker
Coverstone Cemetery Shenandoah, VA

ROSE is a common symbol on tombstones to represent beauty and fullness of life. It can also indicate that a person died in the prime of life.

SUNFLOWER OR PASSION FLOWER means devotion to Christ. In this tombstone, it is set in a circle, which represents eternal life.

 

Charles W. Eppard
Coverstone Cemetery Shenandoah, VA

LAMB is almost always reserved for graves of children because of its association with purity and innocence.

Daisy Clift
Coverstone Cemetery
Shenandoah, VA

Vernon Clift
Coverstone Cemetery
Shenandoah, VA

PRAYING HANDS is seen as pious devotion or a request for eternal life.

Russ and Hattie Kohne
Cedar Hill Cemetery Mathias, WV

SQUARE COLUMN usually tells a story. Often one family member is featured on each side, typically a husband and wife. Columns signify a noble life.

Daniel W. Eppard
on the other side

Amanda Eppard
on one side

Lourenna and Robert Bryan
and son Jeremiah
share this tombstone
Dayton Cemetery Dayton, VA

URN is a typical symbol of death because urns were and still are used to hold ashes of those who have been cremated. The urn therefore suggests the soul and mortality.

 

Hiram Oscar Eppard
a column AND an urn
Methodist  Church Cemetery
Shenandoah, VA

I know you’re just dying to see what others have to say about cemeteries at Sepia Saturday.

Wendy

© 2018, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - The Long Life of Leland Frazier

The theme of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is “Longevity.” Leland Hardin Frazier (or was it Leland Hardin Shiflett?) does not hold the record for being my longest-lived ancestor but he lived long enough to qualify for this week’s challenge. Born about 1805, he died probably in 1892 having reached the ripe old age of 87.

Leland is one of my more colorful ancestors, but it has nothing to do with his age other than having lived long enough to become “colorful.” As mentioned in the post about his mother Lucy Shiflett Frazier, Leland was probably NOT a Frazier by birth but instead the product of an earlier marriage. His middle name “Hardin” might have been his mother’s maiden name. Nevertheless, Leland went through life as both Leland Frazier AND Leland Shiflett.

Little is known of his early years growing up in a section of Orange County, Virginia that later formed Greene County where he lived throughout his adult life. In 1827, he married Ann Smith Mallory. At that time, he used the named Leland Frazier. They had only one confirmed child but probably many others.  Their son Joseph H. Frazier was born in 1828 and moved to Missouri in 1853. There he put himself through school to become a doctor.

 

Dr. Joseph Hardin Frazier
I wonder if this is what Leland
looked like too.

Ann Frazier did not live long. She died in 1833 at the age of 27, and that same year Leland found a new wife: America Mallory. On their marriage record, he used the name Leland Shiflett. Their four children went by Frazier.

America died in 1854, only 44 years old. Two years later Leland married again, this time to Artemissa Shiflett. Leland married under the name Leland Shiflett. (Shiflett is a popular name in the area with some families more closely related than others and plenty of marriages between cousins). However, Artemissa’s father’s will refers to them as Fraziers.

The name thing must have been as confusing to the children as to all the descendants!

Perhaps the name game can explain why Leland was absent from both the 1850 and 1870 census. Or maybe his name is just indexed incorrectly as in the 1840 census in which he is listed as “Selma Feagess.”

The 1860 census indicates Leland was a cooper by trade. His real estate was worth $25 and personal estate $50. Next door was his niece Lucy Jollett and husband James Franklin Jollett (my 2X great-grandparents); next to them was Lucy’s mother and Leland’s half-sister Nancy Elizabeth Frazier Shiflett and husband Burton Shiflett.

That was the last census Leland’s brother-in-law Burton Shiflett would be listed in. Why? Because Leland killed him. Yes, killed him. Imagine having to face your sister after that.

Ironically, just twenty years before that in 1840 Leland was a member of the Committee of Vigilance for Greene County. The purpose of such groups of private citizens was to maintain law and order particularly where local government was inadequate, which seems to have been the case in Greene which had been established for only two years. Yet twenty years later, Leland stood indicted for the murder of his brother-in-law, Burton Shiflett. He pleaded “Not Guilty.” 

Based on the testimony of Thornton Mooney and others, the Jury found Leland guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter in the stabbing death of Burton Shiflett.

From the Greene County Circuit Court Law Book, pp. 116-117

 “We the Jury find the prisoner is guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter, and fixed his term of imprisonment to four years in the penitentiary house, Nov. 20, 1860.” And thereupon it being demanded of him, if anything for himself he had or knew to say why the Court should not now proceed to pronounce judgment against him according to law, and nothing being offered or alleged in delay of judgment, It is considered by the Court, that the said Leland Shiflett commonly called Leland Frazier be imprisoned in the public jail and penitentiary house of this Commonwealth for the space of four years, the period of the Jurors in their verdict ascertained. And the prisoner is remanded to jail.”

Voluntary Manslaughter suggests Leland killed his sister’s husband in the heat of the moment, that there had been no premeditation. A crime of passion. Something happened to provoke him. Maybe Leland caught Burton with his wife (this is NOT something I found in research -- I’m calling on my vast knowledge of motives gleaned from years of watching “Law & Order” and “Blue Bloods”). Maybe Burton was beating his wife Nancy, and Leland stepped in to defend his sister (more “Law & Order” and “Blue Bloods” thinking). Maybe Burton caught Leland doing something he shouldn't have been doing. Or maybe they just got into a fight that escalated out of control. Whatever the reason, it cost Leland four years in the state penitentiary. 

Apparently the children were not ashamed of their father as the name “Leland” AND “Hardin” were bestowed on descendants for several generations to come.

Leland Frazier line:

Leland Hardin Shiflett/Frazier (ca 1805 - ca 1892 Greene Co, VA) & m1) Ann Smith Mallory (1806 - 1833 Orange Co, VA) m. 17 May 1827 Orange Co, VA ; m2) America Mallory (1810 - 1854 Greene Co, VA) m. 14 Nov 1833 Albemarle Co, VA ; m3) Artemissa Shiflett (1813 - 1890 Greene Co, VA) m. 5 Nov 1856 Greene Co, VA

Leland Shiflett/Frazier and Ann Smith Mallory:

1. Dr. Joseph Hardin Frazier (23 Apr 1828 Orange Co, VA - 1 Jun 1892 Randolph Co, MO) & Deniza Emmaline Epperly (4 Jan 1847 Randolph Co, MO - 7 Dec 1918) m. 14 Feb 1864 Randolph Co, MO

• Joseph Frazier (8 Dec 1864 Randolph, MO - 13 Mar 1926 Lovelock, NV) and Mable Claire Bagby (24 Jul 1873 Howard, MO - 26 Apr 1958 Howard, MO) m. 24 Jul 1891
• Susan Margaret Frazier (22 Feb 1868 Randolph, MO - 31 May 1962 Montgomery, AL) and William Lowry Beard (13 Jan 1853 Randolph, MO - 17 Mar 1945 Mukogee, OK) m. 22 May 1892 Randolph, MO
• Bessie Frazier (8 Jan 1871 Randolph, MO - 8 Jan 1871 Randolph, MO)
• Mary Berry Frazier (27 Jan 1872 Randolph, MO - 19 May 1982 Randolph, MO) and James Fount Harlan (27 Mar 1871 Randolph, MO - 11 Nov 1971 Randolph, MO) m. 6 Jan 1897 Randolph, MO
• Theresa Deniza Rosa Frazier (23 Oct 1874 Randolph, MO - 29 Apr 1963 Randolph, MO) and Milton F. Goodding (8 May 1869 Randolph, MO - 11 Jan 1937 Randolph, MO) m. 15 Nov 1900 Randolph, MO
• William L. Frazier (4 May 1877 Randolph, MO - 22 Sep 1961 Los Angeles, CA) and Mary Stella Walsh (29 Mar 1879 Saline, MO - 11 Aug 1960 Los Angeles, CA) m. 22 Jun 1908 Boone, MO
• Leland Frazier (5 Jun 1879 Randolph, MO - 15 Feb 1935 Burley, ID) and m1) Claudia Mildred Rutledge (22 Mar 1882 Missouri - 12 Jan 1910 Marceline, MO) m. 24 Jun 1906 Chariton, MO ; m2) Troy Hope Cadenhead (Oct 1887 Texas - after 1931) m. 1915 Texas
• Oliver B. Frazier (23 Jun 1882 Randolph, MO - 15 Jul 1922 St. Paul, MN) and Dewitt Cleary (28 Apr 1887 Missouri - Apr 1987 St. Louis, MO)
• Aubrey C. Frazier (6 Feb 1885 Randolph, MO - 5 Sep 1962 Twin Falls, ID) and Nell Lansden REA (27 Sep 1886 Saline, MO - 16 Jun 1964 Twin Falls, ID) m. 27 Jun 1912 Saline, MO
• Ione Frazier (9 Oct 1888 Randolph, MO - 21 Dec 1978 Manatee, FL) and Roy Nelson King (2 Oct 1888 Randolph, MO - 17 Nov 1964 Miller, MO) m. 26 Mar 1911 Boone, MO
• Robert Bruce Frazier (4 Apr 1891 Randolph, MO - 4 Mar 1892 Randolph, MO)

 2. Missing Children

Leland Shiflett/Frazier and America Mallory:

1. Huly Frazier (1836 - )

2. Lou Frazier (1838 - )

3. Thomas J. Frazier (15 Dec 1838 Greene Co, VA - 28 Jul 1919 Greene Co, VA) and m1) Julia Ann Frazier (1845 Greene Co, VA - ca 1900 Greene Co, VA) m. 4 Jul 1864; m2) Jennie Frazier (1877 Greene Co, VA - 22 Jan 1961) m. 12 Jun 1900 Greene Co, VA ; had children with Elizabeth Herrin Shiflett but never married  (Thomas Frazier reportedly had 32 children, both legitimate and not.)

• Issue with Julia Ann Frazier

1. Thomas Frazier (1862 - ?) and Elizabeth Garrison (Mar 1861 - after 1907)
2. Mahulda Jane Frazier (22 Mar 1866 Albemarle Co, VA - 4 Jan 1947 Harrisonburg, VA) and m1) John W. L. Shiflett (1866 Rockingham Co, VA - ) m. 3 Mar 1913 Rockingham Co, VA ; had children with Francis Marion “Dosh” Garrison

• Issue with Jennie/Ginny Frazier

1. Thomas Walker Frazier (1896 Greene Co, VA - ) and m1) Betty F. McAlister (1895 - ) 12 Jun 1919 Albemarle Co, VA ; m2) Rosa Shaver (1904 - ) m. 27 Jun 1925 Greene Co, VA
2. Kesia Josephine Frazier (1898 Greene Co, VA - )
3. Lilly A. Frazier (1900 Greene Co, VA - )
4. George W. Frazier (14 Oct 1901 Greene Co, VA - 23 Jun 1912 Greene Co, VA)
5. Lew Frazier (22 Dec 1903 Greene Co, VA - 29 Mar 1966 Albemarle Co, VA) and Ollie Shiflett (30 Apr 1892 Greene Co, VA - 7 Apr 1979 Newport News, VA)
6. Lila M. Frazier (15 Apr 1905 Greene Co, VA - 29 Jan 1991 Yorktown, VA) and Talbott Bailey
7. Hattie Frazier (1909 Greene Co, VA - 11 May 1939 Albemarle Co, VA) and James Knight
8. Thomas Jefferson Frazier (20 Jun 1910 Greene Co, VA - 12 Apr 1975 Richmond, VA)
9. Reva Virginia Frazier (9 Nov 1911 Greene Co, VA - 7 Sep 1993 Albemarle Co, VA) and George M. Knight
10. George Washington Frazier (15 Sep 1913 Greene Co, VA - 31 Jul 1972 Albemarle Co, VA) and Marie Wood

• Issue with Elizabeth Herrin

1. Louisa Josephine Frazier (1868 Greene Co, VA - 12 Mar 1959 Harrisonburg, VA) and McClellan Shiflett (20 Jun 1865 Rockingham Co, VA - 1951) m. 5 Dec 1886 Greene Co, VA
2. William Absolom “Little Tommy” Frazier (1871 Greene Co, VA - May 1893 Greene Co, VA) and Gernie Florence Coleman (3 Jun 1871 Greene Co, VA - 18 Aug 1954 Harriston, Augusta Co, VA) m. 30 Nov 1889 

4. Barbara Frazier (2 May 1843 Greene Co, VA - 3 Aug 1910 Greene Co, VA) and Anfield Shiflett (7 May 1837 Albemarle Co, VA - 31 Aug 1906 Albemarle Co, VA) m. 9 Nov 1858 Greene Co, VA

• Joseph Nathanel Shiflett (1859 Albemarle Co, VA - 13 Mar 1860 Albemarle Co, VA)
• Thomas Nathan Shiflett (18 Jun 1861 Albemarle Co, VA - 20 Oct 1918 Randolph Co, MO) and Louellen Frazier (13 Sep 1872 Randolph Co, MO - 29 Jan 1940 Randolph Co, MO)
• George Turner Shiflett (7 Jan 1866 Albemarle Co, VA - 30 Aug 1945 Randolph Co, MO) and Emma Margaret Lamb (14 Nov 1871 Albemarle Co, VA - 8 Nov 1936 Randolph Co, MO) m. 28 Feb 1888 Greene Co, VA
• Fernanda Jane Shiflett (4 Jan 1868 Albemarle Co, VA - 12 Oct 1883 Albemarle Co, VA)
• Sarah Kathern Shiflett (7 Mar 1870 Albemarle Co, VA - 28 Dec 1954 Pocahontas, WV) and Robert Lee Shiflett (Dec 870 Albemarle Co, VA - 26 Jan 1952 Pocahontas, WV) m. 31 Dec 1891 Albemarle Co, VA
• Bernard Hawkins Shiflett (6 May 1872 Albemarle Co, VA - 5 Apr 1962 Randolph Co, MO) and Octavia Agnes White (27 Apr 1880 Edina, MO - 20 May 1940 Randolph Co, MO) m. 6 Jan 1901 Randolph Co, MO
• Walter Jard Shiflett (20 Jun 1875 Albemarle Co, VA - 27 Jun 1962 Randolph Co, MO) and Mary Helen Burton (4 Mar 1879 Randolph Co, MO - 27 May 1945 Randolph Co, MO) m. 5 Jun 1901 Randolph Co, MO
• Robert Lee Shiflett (24 Mar 1878 Albemarle Co, VA - 18 Jan 1959 Randolph Co, MO) and Delta Kevitt (4 May 1887 Boone, MO - 7 Sep 1974 Randolph Co, MO) m. 9 Nov 1904 Howard Co, MO
• Deniza Moor Shiflett (29 Apr 1882 Albemarle Co, VA - 29 Oct 1969 Albemarle Co, VA) and William Edward Shiflett (7 May 1872 Albemarle Co, VA - 17 Oct 1942 Albemarle Co, VA)
• Anfield H. Shiflett Jr. (28 Apr 1884 Albemarle Co, VA - 6 Mar 1958 Middletown, OH) and Mattie Belle Kirkpatrick (21 May 1883 Rockbridge Co, VA - 22 Nov 1957 Richland, OH) m. 17 Jun 1906 Rockbridge Co, VA

Leland Shiflett/Frazier and  Artemissa Shiflett:

1. A. Columbia Frazier (1857 Greene Co, VA - Nov 1884 Greene Co, VA) and Elvis Sturdivant Shiflett (ca 1862 Albemarle Co, VA - Before 1900 Greene Co, VA) m. 7 Apr 1881 Greene Co, VA

Wendy

© 2018, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Men in the Wood Pile

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt is a busy street scene that offers any number of interpretations. However, the men in the bottom right corner looking at a pile of stuff inspired me to take another look at this photo:

The photo is in a scrapbook that belonged to my grandaunt Velma Davis Woodring. I assumed these were friends and that the photo was taken probably between 1921 and 1928. But who were these men? What was this place? It might have been some place in Harrisonburg where Velma was studying at Harrisonburg Teachers College (now James Madison University - Go DUKES!), or it might have been a building in her hometown of Shenandoah, Virginia.

And was this place under construction? Undergoing demolition? Or was it a storage place? Where are the doors? And what is that thing under the tarp? At first I thought it was a small cannon, but that makes no sense. Is it a spool? A speaker? A handle to that thing behind it?

Eh ~ never mind. Back to my original question: Who were these men? The one on the left seemed familiar, and then it came to me. He looks like a younger version of this man on the right:

 

Frank Wysong and Jacob Hockman
scanned from Shenandoah: A History of Our Town
and Its People

The bow tie, the tilt of the hat, the air of authority. If my suspicions are correct, the man in the wood pile was Jacob Hockman, the neighbor and good friend of my great-grandparents Walter and Mary Frances Jollett Davis. The families lived on the same side of Sixth Street in Shenandoah, Virginia. Their daughters were best friends.

Jacob “Jake” Hockman and his wife Attie started the Home Fuel and Supply Co, Inc. in 1918 dealing in both building supplies and coal.

In 1927 Jake Hockman was featured in the Shenandoah Magazine as part of a series on local businessmen. He was praised for his business philosophy which was to provide “proven material that must stand the test of time and wear.”

The Hockmans started small but over the years Jake expanded his business to include a warehouse, lumber house, lumber yard, and coal yard. Its location with the railroad on one side and highway on the other made it easy to supply local contractors with cement, plaster, lime, paint, varnish, and, of course, lumber and coal. As the magazine noted, Jake “spared no effort to make it a progressive and successful business, and, in so doing, he has gained the confidence and approval of those who have known him.”

The building and STUFF look more like a salvage yard than a one-stop-shop for fresh building supplies, but there is a kinship in the two.

Probably one of Jake’s best customers was my great grandfather Walter Davis. He was a carpenter and house builder who built not only his own home on Sixth Street but also many of the houses in Shenandoah, quite a few of them right there on Sixth Street. 

I have thought maybe the man on the right of the first photo was Walter. The hat is his style. 

Walter Davis and his car

However, most of the photos of Walter Davis are from the late 1920s when he was in his late 50s-early 60s.

With that realization, I am now doubting that the other man is Jake Hockman. Perhaps it is his son Paul who in 1930 was the manager of the coal and lumber yard.

The bottom line - I’m back to where I started. Who were these men? What was this place?

See how others were inspired at Sepia Saturday.

Wendy

© 2018, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.