The Tradition of A Family Bible

Elisha and Mary Josephine Marley's Family Bible is a treasured family heirloom.  Although not in my possession, the copied Births and Marriages pages are treasures and important documents in the research of my Marley Family Tree.

I wonder which of my great great grandparents did the record keeping.  If I had to guess, it would be Mary Josephine, judging from the neat precise and somewhat feminine penmanship.  Regardless of which one did the entries, it seems only one of them did so, again, judging from the penmanship.

Elisha and Mary Josephine were married on January 5, 1876, and perhaps their Family Bible was a wedding gift, as was often the tradition in the 1800's.  However, I like to think it happened this way....

December 1876
As Elisha stokes the fire in the stone fireplace, he glances over at his wife sitting nearby.  Her legs and feet are warmly covered in an afghan she finished just as the first frost fell in Calhoun County, Arkansas.  He watched her as the light of the fire cast it's warm glow on her face...intent on the knitting in her hands.

Mary Jo looked up from her knitting and smiled at her husband of almost a year.  They sat in comfortable silence for awhile.  Mary jo continued to knit on the blanket and thought of the baby it would cover in just three months time. 

Her thoughts turned to concerns of a first time mother.  Things like would she have time to finish the baby clothes and blankets she had started.  What about the crib she knew Elisha was making.  What about a Family Bible to record this birth...the birth that would make them a family.  It was then she broke the thoughtful silence and spoke to her husband.  "Elisha, we should start thinking about our Family Bible".

Elisha and Mary Jo had plans to spend Christmas day at her parents home for the traditional family gathering.  This being their first Christmas together, they decided to start their own family tradition of trimming the tree, sharing a special supper and exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve.  It was a Sunday, that Christmas Eve of 1876, the perfect day and time for Elisha's gift to his wife and soon to be mother of his first child....a Family Bible.

And so it was written on the first three lines in a neat and precise penmanship:

E.S. Marley was born May 25, 1849

Mary Josephen Leatherwood was born May 6, 1856.

Marthy Janne Marley was born March 4, 1877.

by one who spelled like it sounded to him.

 

As the years went by names were added to the Family Bible's Birth records.  After my great grandmother Marthy Janne...aka Martha Jane or 'Janie', her brother's name John Henry was added on October 27, 1878.  Then William Samuel in 1880 followed by Annie Etter in 1882...who always spelled her name as Anna Etta.  On line #7 was penned Zack Rier Marley was born Dec 15, 1883. This third son was named after his mother's grandfather Zachariah Perry Leatherwood...another clue to who's penmanship recorded births in the Family Bible.  Forever more 3rd son's name would be written as Zachariah Andrew Marley. 

 

There are now six lines left to record births.  Elisha and Mary Jo's family numbers six, including themselves.  All but Martha Jane were  born in Jack County, Texas, where they settled along with Mary Jo's Leatherwood family.  Three years went by before another name was written...George Holbert's on one of the six remaining lines.  James Benjamin got the fifth remaining line, and Lue Ida the fourth...another who changed the spelling as soon as she could write...Lou Ida.  Next came Wardie Bell in 1892 and Jesse Simeon in 1894.  With one line left, I wonder if Mary Jo thought it time for the recording of births to end.  It was not!

 

The names Alta and Albert were recorded on the last line on November 30, 1896.  And since this was a page of Birth records, the twins death on the same day was not noted.  All the lines were filled, but there would be one more birth...that of Eugene Edgar on March 14, 1899.  His birth was written in the space above the filigreed border.  Baby Eugene died  at 17 months old in August 1900.



 

Thank-you Elisha and Mary Jo for carrying on the tradition of a Family Bible.

Spinster Seamstress Sisters

At age 15 Mary Jane was declared a spinster by Assistant Marshal E.K. Walsh, enumerator of Wilkes County North Carolina's 1860 Census.  She was listed with her family of father-occupation farmer, mother-occupation housekeeper,  older single sister-occupation seamstress, older brother-occupation farm laborer and brothers Elisha 11yrs and baby William.

One could say Mr. Walsh may have jinxed Mary Jane's chance of ever becoming a bride, a wife, a mother and a grandmother by labeling her a spinster at such a young age.   Jinxed or not, it was her lot in life to be a daughter, sister and aunt.  The same life was in store for the older sister enumerated as a seamstress.

Mary Jane and Martha were the daughters of Henry and Jane Marley and sisters of my 2x great grandfather Elisha Smith Marley.   By all indications and records, Mary Jane and Martha were devoted sisters and aunts to their brothers and to their nieces and nephews except for one...Elisha. 

Elisha left Wilkes County, North Carolina in the early 1870's, and as the story is told by his siblings descendants...never to be heard from again.  Although, Mary Jane and Martha did not contribute to the Marley descendant pool, their Wilkes County brothers did.  And so did Elisha in Jack County, Texas.

As devoted daughters and sister, Martha and Mary Jane lived with their parents and brother William until their deaths.  After mother Jane's death in the late 1870's, the 'Spinster Sisters' became housekeepers and farm laborers...according to the 1880 Census.  After their father's death at age 91, not long after being enumerated in the 1900 Census, Martha and Mary Jane continued to live on the family farm with their now 'Head of House' brother William, 42 years of age. 

William, apparently a bachelor, died sometime between 1900 and 1910 as the two sisters were listed together without William in 1910.  According to Wilkes County Deed Records, spinster Mary Jane Marley bought 100 acres of land from E.K. Walsh. (what an ironic/coincidental twist of Census takers labeling)

By the time the 1910 Census was taken Mary Jane (64)and Martha (69) lived on Mary Jane's farm keeping house and most likely doing what they had always done, sewing and handwork.  They were still close to family with their brother George's son farming the land next to Mary Jane's.   It would be several more years before they would learn of the whereabouts of their last living brother.

The contact would have been sometime in 1914 when Elisha corresponded with his sister Mary Jane.  (This piece of information was jotted down on notes about Elisha taken in 1972 by family historian, Aunt Irene.)

Mary Jane Marley died on March  28, 1915 at age 69.  Her death certificate lists cause of death as 'Lagripe' or what is now called influenza.  Although the certificate places Mary Jane in Wilkes County and correctly lists her parents, the informant was not a family member and incorrectly states her burial site.  However, and interestingly, says the Undertaker will be 'home folks'.  Her unmarked grave is thought to be in the same cemetery as her parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and other family members in Beaver Creek Advent Church Cemetery, Wilkes County, North Carolina.

Perhaps of all the people who attempted to label Mary Jane from spinster to daughter, sister, aunt, seamstress to farmer and housekeeper, the informant on her death certificate stated her occupation perfectly....

....Handwork.

 

Martha died July 16, 1921, at age 81.  According to her death certificate, the cause of death was gastro intestinal related with the contributing factor of old age.  For whatever reason, Martha was not buried in the same cemetery as her parents, siblings and other family members including her lifetime 'Spinster Sister'.  Her place of burial is Mt. Zion Adventist Church Cemetery.  Her nephew and namesake of her father and brother was the informant...he stated her occupation as housekeeper.   Surely he meant to state....Handwork!

 

Sadly, Mary Jane, Martha and Elisha were not to see each other again on this earth.  However, he did return to North Carolina in 1929 at the age of 80.  He would live another 12 years and rests in peace in Borden County Texas beside his wife Mary Josephine Leatherwood Marley.  No doubt he remembered fondly and missed his sisters as he named his oldest and first born child after the both of them....Martha Jane Marley...my great grandmother. 

Like her namesake aunts, she too, did Handwork!

 

Photo Disclaimer:  Photos from Old Photo Collection of CollectInTexas Gal.  Not intended to be representative of any person named in this post.  Used as representative of the period and in the interest of the story line.

Great Grandmother's 'Brick Wall' Maiden Name

Come to find out Great Grandmother Martha Jane Carroll's maiden name was not the proverbial 'Brick Wall' I had made it out to be.  After inheriting her 1890-1910 Photo Album full of unidentified pictures...except for one where she had written her name and the names of her children, the search to identify these obviously related people began. 

After long hours of online searching for a birth record, marriage record and even a death record...none of which were found, I turned to my Aunt Irene's somewhat all over the place in time, hand written family history notes.

There it was...Martha Jane Marley (daughter of E.S. Marley and Mary Josephine Leatherwood ?)  Thankfully...no question mark after the name Marley. In addition...Married in Cleburne, Texas, Jack County.   Her notes included the names of Martha Jane and Steven B. Carroll's children, their birth dates, and the death date of great grandfather Steven and the fact that he was buried in Cleburne.

At last I had not just one maiden name, but two...Marley and Leatherwood.  Both names opened a flood gate of Family Histories dating back to the American Revolution and the establishment of

The Pittman-Carroll-Marley-Leatherwood Family Tree

 Tracks of My Texas Ancestors

and a greater respect for

Irene's Old School Genealogy Record Keeping!

My Motivational Texas Ancestors

In an Interview recently I was asked, "What got you interested in or started your family history/genealogy?

It was my first Genealogy Interview and, I thought the questions were going to be harder to answer.

I was prepared to fess up to questions about having ancestors that might have been Wild West Texas Outlaws.

So the question about how I got interested and started was an easy one to answer.  I even have a photo of the two people who inspired, motivated, and gave me my start as 'The Keeper of My Family's History'.

 Meet the 'Motivational First Keeper' aka as the 'Barefoot Genealogist'...my Aunt Vera Irene Pittman Sinks.  She's sitting beside the 'Cowboy Inspiration' for Tracks of My Texas Ancestors...my Dad...Willard Carroll Pittman.

Irene was the oldest of the six siblings and Willard the youngest.   There was ten years difference in their ages with two brothers and two sisters between them. They were Texas born and raised with an appreciation for their Texas Pioneer heritage.

Irene spent much of her lifetime in search of our Family History.  She loved to talk and write about our ancestors, and the information she found in her research.  Her hours of note taking in libraries and the inquiries from Genealogical Societies from Georgia to Texas have given me an abundance of information on which to build our Family Tree in the Technologically Advanced Genealogy Community of the Twenty-First Century.

About that Interview...

CollectInTexasGal/Tracks of My Texas Ancestors

Featured Genealogy Blog

On

GeneaBloggers 'May I Introduce To You'

Sue Pittman McPeak
CollectInTexas Gal

Link To Interview

Dear John...You are NOT Number One

Dear John, John, John, John, John,+ Ten More,

As the 'Number One' most given 'Given Guys Name' in the Pittman Family Tree, it is my duty as 'The Family's Genealogist' to inform All Fifteen of you, despite popular 'Moniker Statistics', Ya'll are NOT Number One.

Since the First John Pittman born in America in 1726, your name has been held in high esteem and an honorable tradition in the naming of 'First Born Sons' who are destined to be called Junior.

From Colonial John through Civil War John, the Pittman John's led the nation as the Number One Given Guys Name.  This trend continued through the 1920's.  During these Trend Setting years, William ran a close second in the US and in our 'Tree' with Eleven Williams.  True to Trend, James, George, Robert, Charles, Joseph, Frank, Henry and Thomas were 'Tree Toppers' as well as 'Chart Toppers ' across the nation.

Dear Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane + Fifteen More,

Ya'll are Number One in The Pittman Family Tree.  Never mind that Jane as a Given Gals Name only made Number Twenty-Two on the All Time Popularity List.

Jane The First, Jane Calvert Leatherwood 1746-1764, believed in the 'Family Namesake' tradition.   Her son's were John, William, James, George, and Thomas.  She named two of her daughters after herself or possibly her mother...one was Jane and the other Janey.

 Jane The First in 'Our Tree' was the Direct Ancestor and 4XGreat Grandmother of her namesake Martha Jane Marley Carroll, my  Great Grandmother. 

Janie as she was called, has become 'My Family Tree Focus Female'.  Her grandson, Willard Carroll Pittman is my father, and through his lineage Martha Jane Marley Carroll's 'Family Photo Album' was 'Passed Down' to me.

The discovery and photo detective work of Janie's Album has led to many of

'The John's, James' and Jane's in

The Pittman~Carroll~Marley~Leatherwood Family Tree

The Photo Album can be viewed HERE.

This Old Marley Mare Is Goin' Home

The Marley Mare and Mert Carroll's Story

'Don't pick up this 'Old Mare'. She is goin' home'

October 1908
Dear Mama,
I am fine. Don't worry. I am workin' at the Cotton Mill in Post City. Stayin' with Aunt Annie and Uncle Oscar. Don't know when I will be home.
Your son,
Mert
PS...Tell Grandpa, I am sorry bout taken' Delsey. I knew she'd find her way home.

Merritt Douglas Carroll was but a boy of ten years old when he hung the cardboard sign around Delsey's neck with the note to his Mama, Martha Jane Marley Carroll. The year before, Mert, got all the way to Snyder, Texas, before he was picked up by Sheriff Frank Christopher.

The Sheriff knew exactly who the boy was, and that the horse he was riding was stolen. Delsey belonged to Elisha Marley over in Borden County. Sheriff Christopher knew the Marley's pretty well since his brother Oscar had married Anna Etta Marley in October, 1901.

The story goes...Mert was pickin' cotton in his Grandpa's cotton field on a clear day with blue skies above when he dumped out his half full sack, threw it over Delsey's bare back and took off. He made his way as far as Scurry County by pickin' cotton along the way for 50 cents per hundred pounds. When Sheriff Christopher picked him up he had $2 in his pocket.

When asked why he took off with his Grandpa's horse and cotton pickin' sack, he said, "We need the money."

Mert was a man of few words with a work ethic that went back to his days as a 'Cotton Picker' on his Grandpa's Farm in Gail, Borden County, Texas. From Post City, Texas he worked his way to California and then on to Canada. His Mama didn't see him again until around 1915 when he returned home to help her move to West Texas.

Mert was the second child of Stephen Bennett and Martha Jane Marley Carroll.

Pictured here with his parents and siblings in 1900.

Mert is the first little boy...standing next to his older brother Othella.

Sister Estella in her mothers lap.

Their father, Stephen B. Carroll died in June 1903....three years after this photo was taken.

Mert was my Great Uncle.
I was fortunate to know him quite well in his Golden Years as he lived with my parents on their Farm in Grandfalls, Ward County, Texas.
Dad was Mert's nephew by his sister Estella Carroll Pittman.

Mert was stricken with Glaucoma in his fifties and by his seventies was only able to see light and dark shadows. His blindness slowed him down, but didn't keep him from working everyday of his life. He spent many hours in the fields of the 'Pittman Family Farm' grubbing mesquite with a pick axe. He found his way from the house to the field by following a 'Line of Chimes' he created from 'Hub Caps and Tin Cans'.

He Rests In Peace, but probably still 'Grubbing Mesquite',
in Tamarisk Cemetery, Grandfalls, Ward County, Texas
He was true to his Epitaph to the end of his life.
Merritt Douglas Carroll was a great story teller and I was a good listener.
Thanks Uncle Mert for sharing your Life Stories,

Sue

Photo Credits

T J Brown's Cotton Gin...Photo from Martha Jane Marley's Photo Album

Othella and Mert Carroll about 1918...Mert (standing)

Carroll Family Portrait...from Martha Jane Marley's Photo Album

Mert Carroll's Headstone...from my Collection...taken 2011