Rosanna "Rosa" Belle (Haney) Sutphin

Rosanna "Rosa" Belle Haney

b. 15 Sep 1855, Christian Burg, Virginia

d. 18 Jan 1917, Cube, Illinois

m1. John Thomas Draper Sutphin (b. 25 Dec 1859, d. 30 May 1932)
m2. Frank Wilkins (b. Dec 1866, d. 21 Dec 1948)

My maternal third great-grandmother, Rosa Haney, was one of those individuals in my tree that I honestly expected to be a permanent road block. When I initially started my family research, all I had was the name "Rosa Haney" as the wife of John Thomas Draper Sutphin, and the mother of Nan Bailey Sutphin, my second great-grandmother. No further information to draw from.

Usually, a name is enough to start unraveling the story. However, in this case, due to some missing records and certain circumstances, I always hit a dead end.

I still have yet to find any census records when Rosa was still living with her first husband, John Thomas Draper Sutphin. The two were married around 1877. We would expect to find Federal Census records for the family in 1880, but none has been uncovered. Then, John Thomas Draper Sutphin remarried to Hannah Pate in 1895, and we find him with his new wife in the 1900 census. No sign of Rosa.

Since three of the children remained with John Thomas Draper Sutphin, as evidenced in the 1900 census, I had always assumed that Rosa had died. Though, I had no evidence to prove this.

Finally, I had a breakthrough. I tracked down the Social Security application for Nan Bailey Sutphin, daughter of Rosa and John Thomas Draper Sutphin. I did not expect to find anything groundbreaking. But, when the record finally arrived, I was pleased to see a previously unknown middle name for Nan's mother: Belle.

Using this new information, I was able to discover a young Rosanna Belle Haney in the 1860 census living in Lebanon, Virginia, born around 1856. This is near the area in Virginia where John Thomas Draper Sutphin grew up. The census record also gave me insight into Rosa's parents: John W. Haney (b. abt 1834) and Sarah E. (b. abt 1834).

This information led me straight to an Illinois death index record for Rosa Bell Wilkins with her father being recorded as "John W. Haney." This individual matched perfectly with the limited information that I previously discovered about Rosa. She was born in Virginia in Sep 1855. And, further research into this individual began giving strong evidence that I had finally found my third great-grandmother living after 1900.

• In the 1900 census (Fulton County, Illinois), Rosa cites that she has had 5 children and that she was married to Frank around 1898. This would align perfectly with our information and timeline of when Rosa disappeared from the Sutphin family.
• In the 1910 census (Fulton County, Illinois), Rosa cites that Frank is her second marriage, meaning that she was married once before (John Thomas Draper Sutphin), and had 5 children from her previous marriage (Eugene Hubert Sutphin, Aurora Maude Sutphin, Pearl Edith Sutphin, John Cleveland Sutphin, and Nan Bailey Sutphin)
• On Rosa Wilkin's death record, the informant is recorded as "Mrs. Edith Taylor." We find an Edith P. Taylor living next door to Rosa and Frank in the 1910 census. Furthermore, this Edith records her birthplace as Tennessee around 1884. This information matches perfectly with the daughter of Rosa and John Thomas Draper Sutphin: Pearl Edith Sutphin.
• We find this same individual in the 1930 census as "Pearl E. Taylor," supporting this theory.

With this additional information, we can begin to stitch together a timeline. Rosa Belle Haney and John Thomas Draper Sutphin are married around 1877. They have five children before divorcing. John Thomas Draper is remarried to Hannah Pate in 1895, and the all the children remain in the area, three of which live with John Thomas Draper and Hannah. Around the same time, Rosa moves to Illinois, possibly to make a new life for herself. She is remarried to Frank Wilkins around 1898. Back in Tennessee, her daughter, Pearl Edith Sutphin, is married on 9 Jun 1901 to Arthur Stout. Shortly thereafter, the marriage ends and Pearl Edith moves to Illinois. She is remarried to James S. Taylor around 1906 and moves in next door to her mother. Rosa Belle (Haney, Sutphin) Wilkins dies 18 Jan 1918 in Cuba, Illinois. Her daughter, Pearl Edith (Sutphin) Taylor appears as the informant on the state death record.

Private William Johnson

Private William Johnson

b. abt 1805, Claibourne County, Tennessee

d. 20 Nov 1862, Sandusky, Ohio

m. abt 1825 to Elizabeth Grisham Rowe (b. abt 1804, d. 8 Sep 1856)

via FindAGrave.com

Photo by Joyce

While researching my fourth great-grandfather, William Johnson, I continually came across the fact that he died 22 Nov 1862 at Gratiot Street Prison, which served as a prison for Confederate captures during the Civil War. However, none of these sources ever cited a primary source to support this claim.

Additionally, I was not able to find his name on the list of prisoners that died at Gratiot, nor any enlistment records. I started to suspect that this story of his death at a Union prison in St. Louis may have been a cover-up derived by someone in the family to hide the possibility that he abandoned his family. What other explanation was there if I could find no records of his death at the prison nor any service records?

My recent trip to St. Louis urged me to visit this mystery once again in case there was something I missed. After some additional research, the pieces started falling into place.

I knew William Johnson was born in Tennessee and spent most of his life in that state. Despite knowing that his older children relocated to Missouri by 1861, I was still looking at Tennessee service records since the story was that he was a confederate soldier. I assumed that he enlisted in the state of Tennessee. The piece that I missed was that Missouri had a small number of Confederate units despite the larger Union influence.

Once I dug into the Confederate service records from Missouri, I came across POW roll records for a William Johnson that was a member of Company D in Poindexter's Regiment, an independent Confederate unit.

In combing through the prisoner records, I found that this William Johnson was captured 14 Aug 1862, likely during or shortly after the Battle of Compton's Ferry. Most of the regiment was either killed, wounded or captured.

William was received at Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis, Missouri 31 Aug 1862. However, despite the un-sourced information I found about his death, he did not stay very long. Along with several other prisoners, he was discharged to Alton Prison in Illinois 12 Sep 1862. From Alton, on 17 Nov 1862, he was transferred once again - this time to the Depot of Prisoners of War on Johnson’s Island in Sandusky Bay, Ohio.

William's age compared to most of the other soldiers did not work in his favor. He only survived for three days after arriving at the prison on Johnson's Island. He died a the age of 57 on 20 Nov 1862 and was buried at the onsite cemetery.

The misinformation about when and where William died most likely came from a story passed down within the family. This information then found its way into several family trees. William indeed spent time at the Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis after being captured, but he was transferred twice before his death, ultimately ending up on Johnson's Island in Ohio.

Biographical Sketch of Dr. William Hugh Moore

Dr. William Hugh Moore

b. 14 Apr 1853, Cannon County, Tennessee

d. 11 Feb 1910, Pensacola, Florida

m. 10 Mar 1881 to Nancy Virginia "Jennie" Witherspoon (b. 18 Sep 1858, d. 26 Jan 1903)

s/o Thomas W. Moore and Nancy Ashley

William Hugh Moore

Dr. William Hugh Moore

Born April 14, 1853 in Cannon County, Tennessee, William Hugh Moore is the son of Thomas W. Moore and Nancy Ashley. William's father, Thomas, is a native of Indiana and presumably moved to Tennessee alone in his early twenties. He worked as a school teacher in Coffee County, and later, as a merchant. William's mother, Nancy, is a member of the prominent Ashley family of Beach Grove, Tennessee, where she was born.

William's family placed a high value on education, which he received at an early age. In 1875, William began studying medicine with Dr. Alexander Smith Norville, and the following year, he continued his studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating, William started a medical practice in the small town of Hillsboro, Tennessee. A few years later, he moved to Viola, Tennessee, where he spent the remainder of his professional career. In Viola, William not only practiced medicine, but he also owned the local drugstore, and it has been said that he conducted a very lucrative business.

William married Virginia Nancy "Jennie" Witherspoon March 10, 1881 in Coffee County, Tennessee. Born in 1858, Jennie is the daughter of Alexander Bond Witherspoon and Jane Neely, both from Rutherford County, Tennessee.

William and Jennie had five boys and two girls. Their oldest child, Ores Witherspoon, or O.W., was born May 10, 1882. Lillie Mae was born May 11, 1884. William Hughes, Jr. was born April 1, 1886, Kate was born March 15, 1888. Charles Hardy was born March 1892. Paul Bryan was born October 25, 1896. And, Audley was born May 1899, but he is thought to have died as a young child.

In 1903, William's wife, Jennie, died at the age of 44. Sometime after, William was remarried to a woman by the name of Lida. Not much is known of her except she became the guardian of the Moore children after William died.

Later in life, William suffered from heath issues and moved to Pensacola, Florida in hopes that the climate would help his ailments. Despite the move, on February 11, 1910, William died of kidney failure in Pensacola at the age of 56. His body was returned to Tennessee, where he is buried in Viola Cemetery next to his wife, Jennie.

William is said to have been one of the best known physicians in the area. He also has the distinction of being included in Goodspeed's biographical history of Warren County, Tennessee, published in 1887.

William Marion Glover: Date of Death

William Marion Glover

b. Mar 1854, Virginia

d. 10 Jan 1925, Bluff City, Tennessee

m. 9 Apr 1870 to Mary Jane Collins (b. 18 May 1854, d. 27 Dec 1925)

s/o William Jackson Glover and Susan Evelyn McCauley

Until yesterday, the only clue that I had to go on for the death date of William Marion Glover was a transcription of his headstone. This information cited 1925 as the death year, but it did not provide an exact date. I became skeptical of this information since I could not find a death record on file in the state of Tennessee that matched this information. Additionally, William's wife, Mary Jane Glover, died in 1925 as well. I considered the possibility that someone had incorrectly transcribed William's headstone and used Mary's death year, instead.

Since the headstone is now in ruins, I was unable to confirm nor refute this theory.

On a whim, I decided to start sifting through issues of The Bristol Herald Courier from 1925 at the Tennessee State Archives. I accepted that I was in for a really long search that may not even produce any results.

Fortunately, and to my pleasant surprise, I came across the news of William Marion Glover's death in the issue published on 12 Jan 1925. After my continued skimming through the other issues that week, I was able to discover three separate articles about William's death.

Transcription of the first clipping (the others contain similar information):

WILLIAM M. GLOVER CLAIMED BY DEATH

Funeral Services Will Be Held Tomorrow At Home In Bluff City

William Marion Glover, aged 73 years, died at 12 o'clock Saturday night at his home [in] Bluff City, Tenn. His death came suddenly and unexpectedly, being due to heart failure.

Mr. Glover is survived by his widow and three children as follows, Mrs. D. M. Harklerod of West Grove, Ga., J. C. Glover of Jonesboro, Tenn., and R. L. Glover of Bluff [City], Tenn. He is also survived by one sister, Mrs. Susan Salts, of Jonesboro, Tenn.

With this new evidence, I was finally able to correctly determine William's death date as 10 Jan 1925. He was buried in the Chinquepin Cemetery. His wife, Mary, died later the same year and is buried in the same cemetery.

It is still a mystery to me why there is not a death record on file for William in Tennessee. The clippings clearly state that he died at his home in Bluff City. Thus, there should be a death record filed as was required at the time. Another mystery for another day.

Obituary: Mary Jane (Collins) Glover

Mary Jane Collins

b. 18 May 1854, Carter County, Tennessee

d. 27 Dec 1925, Bluff City, Tennessee
m. 9 Apr 1870 to William Marion Glover (b. Mar 1854, d. 1925)

After exhausting most research conduits online, I have finally started diving into the microfilm collection at the Tennessee State Archives. While I was spending the day there, I came across the obituary for my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary Jane (Collins) Glover.

Unfortunately, the microfilmed copy of the page was extremely faint, and it took about 10 minutes to fully transcribe to the best of my ability. But, it is always great to find one more piece to the puzzle.

Bristol Herald Courier
Monday, December 28, 1925

MRS. GLOVER WILL BE BURIED TODAY

Services Will Be Held From Church At 11 This Morning

Funeral services for Mrs. Mary J. Glover, aged 71 years, who died at her home near Bluff City Saturday afternoon, will be conducted from the Chinquapin Grove Baptist Church at 11 o'clock this morning. Services will be ____ ___ of Rev. W. Clay Wilson, pastor of the Bluff City Baptist Church. Interment will follow in the Chinquapin Cemetery.

Pall bearers will be Warren H. Dettor, Jim Dettor, Frank Marrell (Mitchell?), Page McClelan, Tom Hodson (Hodgen?).

Flower bearers will be selected from the grandchildren of the deceased.

Mrs. Glover is survived by three children: Mrs. D. M. Harklerod of West Green, GA, J.C. Glover of Limestone, Tenn. and R.L. Glover of Bluff City, Tenn. She is also survived by one brother E.D. Oliver of Johnson City and 14 (13?) grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

One of the tidbits I used was the mention of her daughter as "Mrs. D.M. Harklerod." This allowed me to find out more information about her daughter, Margaret Glover.

Finding the Parents of George Enoch Smith

George Enoch Smith

b. 10 Feb 1873, Frankfort, Kentucky

d. 13 Jan 1938, Louisville, Kentucky

m. 28 Sep 1897 to Ellen "Ella" Newhouse (b. Jan 1878, d. 7 Apr 1935)

George Smith and friend, Obie Lampton (abt 1900)

I have had success in discovering most of my ancestors beyond four generations. However, the Smith line is the only line that I have yet to move into the 5th generation. This is due to the lack of family information regarding my 2nd great-grandfather, George Enoch Smith. Additionally, the extremely common name has made finding records and evidence difficult.

The only records that I can match with certainty are as follows:

Indiana Marriage Record

Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana

Date: 28 Sep 1897

Groom: George E. Smith

Bride: Ella Newhouse

1920 Federal Census

Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

George E. Smith

Age 48 [est. birth year: 1972]

Occupation: Engineer

Kentucky/Kentucky/Kentucky [Native State for self/father/mother]

Ellen Smith

Age 47 [est. birth year: 1973]

Kentucky/Georgia/Germany

Benjamin Smith

Age 15 [est. birth year: 1905]

Occupation: Errand Boy

Kentucky/Kentucky/Kentucky

1930 Census

Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

George Smith

Age 56 [est. birth year: 1974]

Occupation: Painter/Contractor

Kentucky/Kentucky/Kentucky [Native State for self/father/mother]

Ellen Smith

Age 55 [est. birth year: 1975]

Kentucky/Germany/Georgia

Kentucky Death Record

Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Death Date: 13 Jan 1938

Full Name: George Enoch Smith

Occupation: Engineer, Plaza Hotel

Wife: Ellen Smith

Date of Birth: 10 Feb 1873

Birthplace: Frankfort, Ky.

Father: Enoch Smith

Father's Birthplace: Beattyville, Ky.

Mother: Unknown

Informant: Ben F. Smith

Now, one would think that since this death record indicates George's father as "Enoch Smith," that we could use this find further records. However, upon extensive searches, there are no records that show a "George Smith" as the son of an "Enoch Smith" that would correctly match the birth years and locations we would expect.

It is interesting that the identity of George's mother was not known by his son, Benjamin Franklin Smith, the informant on the death record. This could be as a result of three plausible scenarios:

1. George's mother died at an early age and George never knew her, or perhaps, never talked about her to his son, Benjamin.
2. George's parents were divorced and Benjamin Smith never knew his grandmother.
3. Benjamin does not know much about either of his grandparents and even listing his grandfather as "Enoch Smith" is a mistake.

As I sift through census records, I am more inclined to believe the third possibility: that Benjamin Smith may have been grasping to satisfy the parent fields on the death certificate. It would make sense to assume that George's father was named "Enoch Smith" because George's middle name is "Enoch." Or, perhaps George's father went by Enoch later in life, while appearing on earlier census records under a different name.

The father's birthplace on the death record is very specific, being recorded as "Beattyville, Ky." This specificity could indicate that Benjamin actually does know about his grandfather. But, again, he could just be pulling this from an old memory.

In any case, things just do not add up. There are no census records to support the fact that George's father is named Enoch. So, again, we have three plausible scenarios:

1. The family did not actually appear on any census records in 1880 and 1900.
2. Either George or George's father went by a different name on these census records.
3. George's father is not named Enoch.

I have found evidence that may support that George's father is actually Milton Smith instead of Enoch Smith. In the next part of the post, we will examine the census records to determine if this is a possibility worth considering.

Finding the Parents of John Maxwell

John Maxwell

b. abt 1807, South Carolina

d. 1860-1870, DeSoto County, Mississippi

m. 25 Jul 1832 in Lauderdale, Alabama to Martha Jackson (b. abt 1816, Tennessee)

One of the most disappointing things about genealogy research is hitting the dreaded brick wall. Many times, especially in older generations, there is just not enough information to make the necessary connections to continue the line.

However, sometimes plausible connections can be drawn utilizing the data that is available. This can yield valuable information that can be used to find more supporting evidence.

In this case, I hit a wall with John Maxwell, my 4th great-grandfather. As always, we start with what we know about the subject and go from there.

• John appears in the 1850 census living in DeSoto County, Mississippi. He lists his age as 41 [est birth year: 1809] and his native state as South Carolina.
• John appears in the 1860 census still living in DeSoto County, Mississippi. He lists his age as 53 [est birth year: 1807] and his native state as South Carolina.
• In the 1870 census, John's wife, Martha, is listed as the head of the house in DeSoto County and John is no longer found. Thus, we can assume he died between 1860 and 1870.

From these records, we know that John was born in South Carolina around 1807-1809. It is always good when an individual in this era is born around a decade change. The closer in time that they are born to a census being taken, the more likely it is that we can correctly find a set of individuals that could be the subject's parents.

The census in 1810, children under 10 were enumerated. Thus, we can begin searching for Maxwells living in South Carolina in 1810 with a male child under 10 (John would have been 1-3 years in age at this time based on later census information).

We searched "Max*" (notice the wildcard) to return any families where the last name begins with "Max." This is a good idea in case the family name was changed or transcribed incorrectly.

Search: 1810 Federal Census, Last Name "Max*" in "South Carolina" with at least 1 male child under 10

• Francis Maxey (Female) - St. Johns Colleton, Charleston, South Carolina (1 male under 10)
• Rev John Maxey - Columbia, Richland, South Carolina (3 males under 10)
• John Maxon - York, South Carolina (2 males under 10)
• Chas Maxwell - Abbeville, Abbeville, South Carolina (1 male under 10)
• Hugh Maxwell - Abbeville, Abbeville, South Carolina (2 males under 10)
• John Maxwell - Pendleton, South Carolina (1 male under 10)
• John Maxwell - Newberry, South Carolina (1 male under 10)

It is likely that one of these individuals is the father of our subject. I will concede that this method is not flawless. For example, if our subject's father moved away from South Carolina before the 1810 census and after our subject was born, we would be looking at an incorrect data set. However, it can give us something from which to work.

We also have a marriage record from 25 Jul 1832 in Lauderdale, Alabama reflecting our subject's marriage to Martha Jackson.

Looking at 1830 census records, we find several Maxwells living in the area of Lauderdale County, Alabama. These could be members (mother, father, brother?) of our subject's family:

Search: 1830 Federal Census, Last Name "Max*" in "Lauderdale County, Alabama" and adjacent counties

• James Maxwell - Lauderdale County, Alabama
• James Maxwell - Limestone County, Alabama (east of Lauderdale)
• John Maxwell - Limestone County, Alabama (east of Lauderdale)
• W Maxwell - Giles County, Tennessee (northeast of Lauderdale)
• Isaiah Maxey - Giles County, Tennessee (northeast of Lauderdale)
• Nancey Maxey (Female) - Giles County, Tennessee (northeast of Lauderdale)

We cannot place too much value on this information. It is possible that none of these people are even related to our subject. Perhaps John was not even living in Alabama at the time. Or, maybe, he was living with another family. This was common if a young person set off and migrated to an new area without family.

The John Maxwell in Limestone County, Alabama cannot be our subject because this individual is 40-49 years of age (and married). Our subject would be around the age of 21-23 at this time. However, this could prove to be our subject's father. Though, there is no individual in this John Maxwell's household that would match our subject.

In fact, the only household where the enumeration fits our subject is the home of Isaiah Maxey from Giles County, Tennessee. It is possible that this individual is related to our subject, but it is highly unlikely because of the last name. But, we cannot rule it out.

We do know that our subject's first two children are thought to have been born in Mississippi:

• Adaline M Maxwell (b. abt 1836, Mississippi)
• James Harvey Maxwell (b. 30 May 1838, Mississippi)

Thus, we can assume that by the time of the 1840 Federal census, John's family was living in Mississippi. We do find a young John Maxwell living in DeSoto County, Mississippi in 1840. However, no children are enumerated. Additionally, the head is enumerated in the 20-29 column. At this time, our subject is thought to be 31-33. It is possible that he marked himself younger than he actually was, but it does not explain the children that should be enumerated (1 Male under 5, 1 Female under 5).

Interestingly, we also find a David Maxwell and his family in DeSoto County on the 1840 Federal Census. This individual is 50-59 and has several children. It is possible that this could be John Maxwell's father or uncle (as mentioned, the John Maxwell that we find in DeSoto County in 1840 may not actually be our subject). This David Maxwell does not show up in DeSoto County in the 1850 Federal Census. I believe that he died before this time.

There is a Thomas Maxwell that shows up in 1850 that could have been living with David Maxwell until his death. Thomas has a large family, and one of his sons is named "David."

It should be noted that we find two individuals by the name of "John Maxwell" in DeSoto County, Mississippi in the 1850 Federal census. One is our subject, John Maxwell. The other is probably the individual that we find living in DeSoto County in the 1840 census.

So, the question becomes, "Where was John Maxwell and his family in the 1840 Federal Census?" There are no other John Maxwells found in Mississippi that would fit the profile of our subject, but evidence leads us to believe that he was indeed living in Mississippi at during the time of the census.

Also, is our subject related to these other Maxwell families that we find in DeSoto County?

Many times the attempt to solve a question will just result with more questions. However, if we keep digging and find other sources of information, we may just have a moment where we break through.

This exploration will be continued in a future post.