I'm Still Here

I just spend all my time doing homework and trying to find Alexander Beaubier! I know nothing more about that man then when I started. It is so frustrating!

I am going to have to finish and post my last eight posts for "52 Ancestors" probably next year. I have to do my last two homework assignment that are due January 8th now because I have to have hernia surgery on the 23rd of December and with only a week to recover before I go back to work - going to work is all I will have the time and energy for.

52 Ancestors - #44 William Tubbs Graves - My Double Great Great Great Great Grandfather

According to James McGee who wrote “A Branch of A Tree – A McGee Family in History”, William Tubbs Graves was the only child of Thomas Graves and Lydia Tubbs. He was probably born in Hudson, Columbia County, New York. Thomas Graves died on June 19, 1783 when he was just 51 years of age and a little over one year after the birth of his only child William on April 13, 1782.

William was 23 years old and his bride Maria (Maritje) Herder was 20 years old when they were married on August 1, 1805.The information for Maria is from the records of the Reformed Church, Claverack, Columbia County, New York, under births and christenings: Maritje Herder, born March 27, 1785, and christened March 28, 1785; and her parents were: Peter Herder and Eva Land (spelled Landt for another child's record). Claverack is 4 miles from Hudson.

William and Maria’s first two children can be easily found in church records: From the records of Saratoga Reformed Dutch Protestant Church, Schuylerville, Saratoga County, New York: Peter Herder Graves, born May 12, 1806, christened June 29, 1806; parents: William J. Graves and Maria Herder.  From the records of the Reformed Dutch Protestant Church, Easton, Washington County, New York: Thomas Graves, born June 14, 1808, and christened July 31, 1808; parents: William J. Graves and Maria Heider. Their second child was my ancestor Thomas Tubbs Graves – my great great great grandfather, who became the father of James A Graves.

William and Maria’s first daughter and third child Eefje (Eva) Graves was born August 20, 1810. Getty Maria Graves was born September 23, 1812.

In 1815 William and Maria moved to Jefferson County, New York from Herkimer County, New York.William L. Graves was born February 2, 1815 in LeRay, Jefferson County, New York. Lydia Graves was born on December 21, 1816. A son John Henry Graves was born January 9, 1819 and he died the next day. On March 1, 1820 William and Maria had another son they named John Henry in Pamelia, Jefferson County, New York.

William and Maria were in Clayton, Jefferson County when their daughter Rebecca was born on February 23, 1823. Rebecca would go on to marry Edward McGee and become the ancestor of James McGee, who has provided the information I have on William, Maria and their family.

William and Maria’s youngest and tenth child is also my ancestor.  Henrietta Graves was born on April 6, 1830. Henrietta married Alexander Beaubier and their eldest daughter Effie Beaubier married James A. Graves, her cousin and the son of her Uncle Thomas Tubbs Graves. Henrietta, who was my great great great grandmother died age 25 years 9 months 5 days on January 11, 1856. It was her brother John Henry who either provided or helped provide a headstone for her grave in the Clayton Village Cemetery in Clayton, Jefferson County, New York.

At some point William and Maria moved to Indiana. William Tubbs Graves died October 5, 1838 in Adams Township, 2 miles east of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was 58 years old.

Great great great great great great great great great grandparents: Samuel Graves/unknown

Great great great great great great great great grandparents: Mark Graves/Elizabeth Knights

Great great great great great great great grandparents: Thomas Graves/Mary Hopson

Great great great great great great grandparents: Mark Graves/Elizabeth Richardson

Great great great great great grandparents: Thomas Graves/Lydia Tubbs

Great great great great grandparents: William Tubbs Graves/Maria Maritje Herder

Great great great grandparents: Thomas Tubbs Graves/Fidelia N. Riggs

Great great grandparents: James A. Graves/Effie Beaubier

Great grandparents: Jefferson Thomas Graves/Martha Matilda Riches

Grandparents: Effa Belle Graves/Alva Ashbury Tucker

Parents: E. Rosalie Tucker/Lionell Burris Mitchell

52 Ancestors - #43 William John Tucker –The First of Our Tuckers Born in America

My great grandfather William John Tucker was born 152 years ago today on October 30, 1862. William was born to an Englishman turned California gold miner turned farmer John Tucker and a former Kentucky/Missouri girl – Mary Graves Hardesty. John and Mary had met shortly after she arrived in Honey Lake, California in 1861 and they were married on January 21, 1862. John had been in America since 1851 when he made the perilous journey from the East Coast to the California gold fields. John and Mary's first child William was born on their farm in Susanville, Lassen County, California. As John had a brother William who was five years older than he was, it is likely that this was who they named their eldest son after.

John had two dreams, to go north to Canada to get back under British Rule and to buy a farm where God did the irrigating. He never made it back to British territory as he was unable to convince his wife Mary to ford any more treacherous rivers after they had lost a team of horses and a wagon crossing the Cowlitz River near Toledo after their arrival in Washington Territory.The family spent two years of renting a farm on the Cowlitz Prairie.Will’s sister Mary Elizabeth was born while the lived on the Cowlitz Prairie farm on April 8, 1865. John realized his second dream in 1866 when he hewed his log home out of the wilderness of the Silver Creek area. At that time Silver Creek was a 2000 acre valley of fertile soil with no roads and very few clearings because the land was covered with a hardy growth of timber.

For the first two years at the Silver Creek cabin it had no door - just a large and heavy canvas and then with the birth of each of the next six children John would add a room to the cabin. William’s younger siblings were Sarah Ellen born in 1867, George Henry born February 1, 1872, Agnes Jane born September 12, 1874, Albert Henry born May 23, 1876, Alfred James born May 28, 1879 and Frederick Rollyn born December 28, 1882. When Fred was three years old their sister Sarah Ellen died August 9, 1886 at age 19 of a ruptured appendix and was one of the first two people buried at the Salkum Cemetery.

William John Tucker in his teens or early twenties

 William Tucker in the Signal Corp – second from left

On October 14, 1888, twenty-six years old William John Tucker married seventeen year old Georgianna Katherine at her parents’ home. Their witnesses were William’s neighbor and brother-in-law Franklin Harrison Usher and William’s sister Agnes Tucker.

On July 18, 1889, their first child William Henry Tucker was born at Silver Creek. According to my Uncle Arnold, “Henry was a very handsome man, as were all the boys.” 

circa 1890-1891

William John Tucker, William Henry, Georgianna Katherine

On January 8, 1892, my grandfather Alva Ashbury Tucker was born at Silver Creek. On April 6, 1894 Harold (both Arnold and Stella had thought he was the oldest and died when he was twelve but that doesn’t fit time wise and others have indicated that Annie said he was two when he died.) He had red hair like his mother. 

 

circa 1894

William John, Georgianna Katherine

Alva Ashbury, William Henry, Harold

On May 7, 1896 Edwin Monroe Tucker was born at Silver Creek. He was the last of their four children and their fourth son. Their third son Harold died July 26, 1896 at age two and according cemetery records he is buried Salkum Cemetery – but with no headstone. He may have drowned.

I do not know the circumstances but within a few months a number of things happened. Annie had a new baby and then two and a half months later Harold died at age two and then five months later, on December 28, 1896, Annie committed adultery with F.H. Usher at her home (this from the divorce papers that were to follow.) Franklin Harrison Usher lived on the farm next door and was married to Annie’s sister-in-law (William Tucker’s sister Lizzie) who was ill at this time.

When Frank and Annie ran off together on January 21, 1897 they took the baby Edwin Monroe Tucker with them and left Henry (7 years old) and Alvie (5 years old) home alone while William was out working on the farm. A month later on February 23, 1897 William is granted 160 acres through the Homestead Act.

William then filed for divorce from Katie (Annie.) The Sheriff was unable to find Annie to serve her with divorce papers in March 1897 and it was believed that Annie and Frank had left Washington State. Summons by publications was filed and published once a week for four consecutive weeks in the “People’s Advocate” newspaper published in Chehalis, Washington.

The final divorce decree was granted on May 19, 1897 giving William custody of all three children since he was the only fit parent and stating that neither of the parties to this action could contract the marriage relation within a period of six month after this action. On May 21, 1897 notice appeared in ‘The Chehalis Bee’ stating their divorce was granted along with two other couples. Franklin’s wife Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Tucker Usher filed for divorce later than her brother did and it was not granted until the week of October 8, 1897.

Will (as he was known by family) wed again on March 24, 1898 at the Methodist Church in Chehalis. He and Miss May Mabel Wight were married with A.C. and Luella Winters as their witnesses. William was 35 years old and May was 28 years old. An announcement of their marriage appeared in The Chehalis Bee on April 1^st:“W. J. Tucker of Silver Creek and Miss May Wight of Ferry were married at the Methodist Church Thursday evening of last week by Rev. T. E. Elliott. Mr. Tucker is the brother of Prof Tucker.”

Their only child, a daughter, Calla Lilly Tucker was born on March 11, 1899 at their Silver Creek farm.

In the June 3, 1904, Chehalis Bee Nugget the following announcement appeared:“Home Telephones – Line Completed to Chehalis from Mossyrock – Not Open Yet for Business. The Home Telephone Company have pay stations at Mossyrock, Silver Creek, Ethel, Salkum, Mayfield and Forest, and phone in at the ranches of F. Tauscher, W.J. Tucker, J.J. Finstad and Fred Dunbar.”

It was reported in the August 22, 1907 Centralia Chronicle that W. J. Tucker had sold to the Continental Timber Company timber on some of his land for $100.

It was about 1910 when Edwin found out that he was actually a Tucker and not an Usher. He was very upset about it. When Edwin was finally able to meet his father William, the reunion did not go well because of the hard feelings between Will Tucker and Annie and Frank Usher.

Will’s brother Albert died on March 24, 1911 of a strangulated hernia. He is buried at Salkum Cemetery. Albert left a widow and one son.

From the February 27, 1913 Centralia Chronicle: “The Lewis county commissioners have ordered a change in the course of the Paul Larsen Road….J. Finstad and William J. Tucker, two property owners through whose land the road passed and who objected to its establishment, were awarded $125 and $200 respectively by the commissioners.”

February 28, 1914 Mary Tucker’s 74^thBirthday

Grandpa Will is in the upper right corner.

Her six surviving children, James, Fred, Henry, William, Lizzie and Agnes.

  May – Will’s second wife

 

Will’s son Alvie had been farming with his father in Silver Creek when he went against the advice of his family and married Effa Graves of near-by town of Forest. She had been working as a teacher in Coulee City in Eastern Washington so that is where they got married on March 20, 1915. After a honeymoon in Tacoma, they returned to Coulee City and Alvie went to work on a ranch in the area.

 Effa and Alva Tucker on their wedding day

 

Will’s wife May died in Chehalis on Saturday, April 10, 1920. She was just 49 years old. Her funeral was held on Monday afternoon and she was buried at the Salkum Cemetery. William was a widower at age 58 after 22 years of marriage.

William Tucker’s Barn Raising

In the July 7, 1922 Chehalis Bee Nugget newspaper it mentions that “James Tucker and family, Fred Tucker and family, W. J. Tucker and J. E. Owens and family enjoyed a very pleasant picnic July 4 in the Tucker grove.”

My Uncle Arnold remembered a trip to Grandpa Will’s place at age 3 in 1923. He went with his Dad Alvie and his Uncle Henry, who came down from Seattle, to Silver Creek over a gravel and puncheon road. “We stayed overnight, I slept between them in a huge bed, I really thought I was something, one of the men.”

A June 24, 1924 article also from the Chehalis Bee Nugget talks about how the L. W. Huntting, Fred R. Tucker and W. J. Tucker families spent the weekend at the beach.

Will applied for a Marriage License on Thursday, September 30, 1926 in Cathlamet, Wahkaikum County, Washington to marry Ella DeBelle, both of Silver Creek, Washington. Earl Adams of Pe Ell, Washington went with them and swore in a Marriage Affidavit that he was acquainted with the applicants; that he knew they were not habitual criminals, and that William was older than twenty-one (he was almost 64) and that Ella was older than eighteen (she was 41.). He also said that he knew of no legal impediment to their marriage. On Wednesday, October 6, 1926 the Wahkaikum County Clerk was paid $1 (Receipt No 3594) to file the license after the marriage took place. What day and where the marriage took place, I do not know.

 Ella DeBelle – Will’s third wife

Will’s second son, Alva Ashbury Tucker (my grandfather) died on May 27, 1927 when the tugboat he was Chief Engineer on sunk in stormy seas in the Straits of Juan de Fuca near Port Townsend, Washington. He was just 35 years old and left a widow and four young children.

Another Chehalis Bee Nugget article on July 2, 1927 stated that: “Mr. and Mrs. W. Tucker went to Chehalis this week.”

Will’s eldest son, William Henry Tucker, died November 30, 1927 of appendicitis during surgery in Seattle, King, Washington. He was 38 years old. He left a widow Hilda and a nine year old daughter Betty from his first marriage.

Will was a farmer and a blacksmith. He farmed right up until December 1, 1932 when he started feeling ill. Dr. L. G. Steck of Chehalis had attended him from December 27, 1932 and had last seen him on January 18, 1933. Dr. Steck had been treating him for three years for chronic myocarditis and cardiac decompensation with edema for 1 ½ years. William John died on 6 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 1933. He was seventy years old. Services were held at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 3^rdat the Salkum Church officiated by Rev. E. L. Whistler of the Church of the Brethern.  The funeral services were directed by L.R. Cattermole Funeral Home of Winlock, Washington and he was buried at the Salkum Cemetery. Will’s death certificate incorrectly states that his birthdate was October 31 – it was October 30 according to family members. His tombstone also says he was born in 1863 but it was 1862.

Will’s obituary says that he had a wide circle of friends.His only child mentioned was his daughter Calla, his son Edwin was not. According to the March 24^th Chehalis Bee Nugget, the Silver Creek Grange met on March 18, 1933 and the Charter was draped in memory of Bro. W. J. Tucker who died had March 1.

My cousin Loren Tucker, the son of William’s youngest brother Fred, was born in 1914. In 1984 he shared with me what he remembered about his Uncle Will. “He was a good blacksmith and Dad often sent me over to his place with a horse to shoe or a plow share to sharpen. He was large and had a mustache. I think in later years he had diabetes or dropsy. I can remember him show Mom how badly his legs were swollen. I also remember Aunt May and her tremendous garden. I never knew Uncle Will’s first wife. In fact I never knew until I was grown about her. I remember Dee Bell but she never fit in very well with my family so there was no close relationship.”

About the same time I asked my Uncle Arnold about Grandpa Will. Arnold had this to say,“He was a tall well built man not fat, wore a large, thick mustache, heavy head of hair. Was a very kind man, good-natured, hard worker, and chewed plug tobacco. Seemed always easy going. Whenever I saw him, he would take me into a big bear hug. I really looked up to him.”

Great great grandparents: John Tucker/Mary Graves Hardesty

Great grandparents: William John Tucker/Georgianna Katherine Ragan

Grandparents: Alva Ashbury Tucker/Effa Belle Graves

Parents: Elva Rosalie Tucker/Lionell Burris Mitchell

Glacier Star Techniques 5 and 6 Progress Report

Last weekend I was quilting again at Hood Canal with Sue and Ann. A nice relaxing weekend.

I got all the Feathered Star units sewn together and ready to attach to the Lone Star units.

They will go around the Lone Star like this --

I laid everything out to see what the finished center will look like.

I also started getting the material cut out for technique 6.

52 Ancestors - #42 Rosetta George – The Mother of Gems

My paternal great grandparents were B.W. (Burrell Williamson) and Rosetta George Burris. I don’t know much about my father’s grandmother because Rosetta died when he was only seven and a half months old.

Burrell Williamson Burris

Rosetta George

(Photos from original oil paintings)

Rosetta George was born September 17, 1871 at Brumley, Miller County, Missouri. Her parents were Bryant S. George and Sarah K. Hawkins. Her eldest brother was Dr. Charles Elmore George and he was born in February 1868. They had a brother Bryant E. who had died at 8 months of age on November 19, 1870. Another brother Frank was born February 3, 1873 but only lived until he was 6 ½ months old. On October 5, 1874, their youngest brother Phineus Haziah was born. Rosetta was the only daughter.

In the June 18, 1880 US Census for Glaize, Miller County, Missouri, her brother Charles is twelve and helping their father with the farm. Rosetta was 8 and Phineus was 6 years old. Sometime after she turned nine years old she became a Baptist.

Miss Rosetta George was married to Mr. B.W. Burris on April 14, 1887. She was just 15 ½ years old. He was almost 29 years old. They had four children - the first was Pearl born March 5, 1888.  W. Edgar Burris, their only son was born on March 9, 1889 and died ten days later.  Their second daughter Opal was born September 9, 1891 and died July 7, 1892. Opal and Edgar were both buried at the Hawkins Cemetery in Brumley, Miller County, Missouri.

Rosetta George Burris

Rosetta, Pearl and BW Burris

In her younger years, Rosetta taught seventeen successful terms of school all together. In June 13, 1900 they were still in Miller County, Missouri and he was a farmer and she was a teacher. It was after this that the Burris family went from Miller County to the west and spent several years in the western states; they homesteaded for a while in eastern Washington State near Ellensburg in Kittitas County and then moved to Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado where they finally had another child, my grandmother Ruby who was born April 24, 1902. While they lived in Colorado, Burrell worked as a dairyman for the Riverside Dairy.

They then moved to Viola, Arkansas, where B.W. engaged in the mercantile business for three years and Pearl met her first husband; they were still in Viola, Arkansas in August 1908.The family then returned to their home state of Missouri and settled in Raymondville, Texas County, Missouri where Burrell and Rosetta lived for the rest of their lives.

They were in Raymondville by December 5, 1909 to run a mercantile business (in 1910 they were co owners with Sherman Shipp and Dr R. C. Haggard.) Sallie Hamilton who lived on farm next door to them had been the Raymondville Postmistress since December 10, 1906. On July 1, 1914 Rosetta was appointed Postmistress. Rosetta was a successful partner with her husband in the mercantile business. In 1918 it was known as BW Burris & Company and it was a retail store with dry goods and groceries. During World War I, Rosetta took an active part in all Liberty Loan campaigns. B.W. owned the store until about 1925.

At the time of her death Rosetta was a member of the Royal Neighbors lodge which was a fraternal beneficiary society founded in 1895 by nine women when women were not allowed to vote, couldn’t own property, or have life insurance. The society provided life insurance for women and stood firmly behind the women’s suffrage movement.  In fact, the 19^th amendment giving women the right to vote had just been ratified nine days before Rosetta died. Royal Neighbors were one of the first to insure children and to recognize mortality schedules establishing that women live longer than men, and to reflect that difference in their premiums.

She was also a member of the Yeoman, which was most probably, the Brotherhood of American Yeoman which was founded in 1897 and was also fraternal benefit/insurance society that had both men and women as members.

Rosetta had been ill for awhile and was going to have surgery at West Side Hospital in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. It was a private hospital established in 1896.

Rosetta wrote her daughter Ruby a letter and mailed it at noon on August 19, 1920 in Rolla, Missouri – her return address was “Rosetta Burris - Rolla on way to be operated on.” According to her letter she had arrived in Rolla at 10 a.m. and had paid Mrs. Ben Williams $3 to give her a ride from Licking which was 35 miles. Licking itself was 12 miles north of Raymondville where she lived. “I feel all right will leave on the 3:55 train. I have a room where I can rest good. I tried to sleep but could not. Now don’t worry about me I will get along all right.” She admonishes her husband to take care of Ruby. “Don’t let her have to draw any water or lift or be on her feet. I do hope she will keep up and get better.” And now, for my favorite line of the whole letter “Don’t forget the chicken shut up in house.” She also instructs him to get eight pounds of unslacked lime and to “put 2 or 3 # in cistern and to put some in a jar of water and to pour some every day in closet and keep the rest closed tight in something tight you could put quite a bit in ½ gal fruit jars. You see the lime kills all germs.” Rosetta closes her letter with “Love to all & a big kiss for Baby. Now Ruby, take good care of yourself. Bye bye. Mother”

A postcard from Rosetta to her daughter Ruby was postmarked August 21, 1920 10:30 p.m. St Louis, Missouri. Her message to her daughter was “This is Sam Louder’s instructions on the other side. Mother” The other side of the card said “Late to bed and late to rise, makes it hard to open your eyes.”

On Friday, August 27, 1920, Rosetta saw her doctor, Dr. Claude Corel, at 4 p.m. just before her surgery and then died at 5:30 pm following the surgery. She was 48 years, 11 months, 10 days old at her death. The death certificate states that she died of corcumonia of the uterus – shock following operation for corcumonia of uterus which he said was confirmed by a necroscopic (or post-mortem) examination of uterus. I have not been able to find the meaning of “corcumonia” anywhere – it is not listed as a medical term that I have been able to find either.

When Rosetta died, she left behind her aged father and mother, Bryant and Sarah George of Raymondville, her husband, B. W. Burris, two daughters, Pearl Toft and Ruby Mitchell, two brothers, Charles Elmore George and Phineus Haziah George, and a grandson, Lionell Burris Mitchell.

Her funeral was held at the Raymondville Baptist Church at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31^st. Rosetta was buried at the Allen Cemetery just outside of Raymondville. B.W was buried next to her in 1934. In 1975 my father (their grandson) Lionell Burris Mitchell purchased a headstone for their graves since as he put it, “their two gems couldn’t be bothered to do it.”

Great Great Great Grandparents: Haziah George/Mary Jane (Jennie) Wilson

Great Great Great Grandparents: William David Hawkins/Catherine Elizabeth McCubbin

Great Great Grandparents: Bryant S George/Sarah K Hawkins

Great Grandparents: Rosetta George/Burrell Williamson Burris

Grandparents: Ruby Burris/Roscoe Arthur Mitchell

Parents: Lionell Burris Mitchell/Elva Rosalie Tucker