Ancestor Insight: William Allen Couch (1864-1942)

WILLIAM ALLEN COUCH, 3RD GREAT GRANDFATHER

William Allen Couch (known as “Mel” by his family members), was my 3^rd great grandfather. He was born in the backwoods of Gilmer County, Georgia to John W Couch and Alcy “Elsie” Matilda George. At about age 5, he, his parents, siblings, and a grandmother moved to Wilson County, Tennessee. Though, they didn't reside their long, for by 1880 the family is living in Kitchen township, Hopkins County, Kentucky.

William with his parents and grandmother on the 1870 US Census in Wilson County, Tennessee
SOURCE: Ancestry.com; Year: 1870; Census Place: District 22, Wilson,Tennessee; Roll: M593_1572; Page: 637B; Image: 607; Family History Library Film: 553071.

On September 25, 1883 he was married to Miss Mariah Elizabeth Southard, a daughter of Fielding Gradison Southard and Margaret Wheatley. The Southard's were prominent citizens in that county.

We know of only two children born to William and Mariah; Vernia and Gertrude. Vernia is my great great grandmother was was born sometime around December of 1884. Gertrude was born in November 1899. Quite a gap between children.

By 1900, William and Mariah are no longer together. They divorced (whether formally or informally), and Mariah is living with William's aunt, Sarah Couch Buchanan. Mariah is listed as having bore 8 children, only 2 of which are living, which could be an explanation to why there is such a large year gap between the births of Vernia and Gertrude.

In 1902, Mariah was re-married and had two children. What happened to William? On April 1, 1901, he was married to Susie Buchanan. They had six children. Around 1910, William and the family moved to Stoddard County, Missouri, and lived in that area for the rest of their lives.

William Allen was married a third time in 1927 to Fannie Buchanan (he liked the Buchanan family, didn't he?) And by 1940 was married a fourth time to a woman by the name of Viana. William was married at least four times, and could have had at least 14 children, 6 of them not making it to adult hood.

Now, there is another mystery to how many children William was the father to. In the 1898 Hopkins County School Census, William is listed as being the parent or guardian of Bige Harris, who was born on 8 Sep 1880, and was listed as a father to Vernia H. Couch (my g-great-grandmother). Was Bige Harris another child of William?

I can't say for certain. In the 1900 census, Bige Harris is working on the farm of R. F. Smith in Hopkins County, so I don't get any context to who his family his. He was born after the 1880 census was taken, so I probably won't find him in any census' with his family.

My 3^rd great grandfather died on July 2, 1942 in Parma, New Madrid County, Missouri, aged 77. He's buried at the Parma Cemetery in Parma township.

INTERESTING LINKS:

William's Find-A-Grave Memorial Page

***

Published: 9 January 2015

My E-Mail: tylerjamesmccane@gmail.com

Next Week: Mariah Elizabeth Southard, 3^rd Great Grandmother

Last Week: Eliza Jane Knight McCain, 3rdGreat Grandmother

Ancestor Insight: Eliza "Liza" Jane (Knight) McCain

LIZA JANE KNIGHT MCCAIN, 3RD GREAT GRANDMOTHER

Eliza Jane (Knight) McCain was born on April 15, 1867 in Smithland, Livingston, Kentucky, and a daughter of James and Nancy Jane (Rail) Knight.

In about 1880, she removed with her family from the Kentucky home to Charleston, Mississippi, Missouri. It was at that place on June 24, 1882, that she was married to Levi M. McCain, son of Jacob and Arminty (Kitts) McCain, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively.

At the time of her marriage, Eliza Jane was 15 years, 2 months, and nine days old. Her new husband was just two months over 30. Being so young, and the law's legal age of women to marry being 18, Eliza needed her father's permission. James granted permission, signing Eliza and Levi's marriage certificate, "James Knight, the father of the said Eliza Knight, has given his assent to said marriage.

Mrs. Eliza McCain was widowed on April 4, 1923, aged 55. Her husband died at the age of 70 of pneumonia. He was buried on the fifth in Bernie Cemetery. Throughout their marriage, they had five children: William Henry; Julie Frances; Cora Elizabeth, who died in California three months after Levi's death; John Wesley, who died in 1994, aged 101; and Pearl M.

Eliza McCain's Missouri Death Certificate

Eliza Jane Knight McCain breathed her last on December 7, 1948 in Como township, New Madrid county, Missouri, aged 81 years, 7 months, and 22 days. She was buried at Bernie Cemetery on December 9th. The cause of her demise was cerebral hemorrhage.

Eliza had eight siblings: Serena, Richard, John, Martha, James, Henry, William and Isaac.

INTERESTING LINKS:

Levi McCain's Biography

Eliza & Levi's Find A Grave Memorial

Published: January 5, 2015

My E-Mail: tylerjamesmccane@gmail.com


Next Week: William Allen Couch, 3^rd Great Grandfather

Last Week: Levi M McCain, 3rd Great Grandfather

Ancestor Insight: Levi M McCain (1852-1923)

LEVI M MCCAIN, 3RD GREAT GRANDFATHER

As one of my New-Years Resolutions, I am going to (try) writing about 2 ancestors per week. I am just going to climb my pedigree chart, working my way through my tree, even if I don't know that much about an ancestor (some branches of my tree are more complete than others).

So, let's start the year with my 3rd great grandfather, Levi M McCain.
(Me->My Father->My Grandfather->Luther McCane->William McCane->Levi M McCain)
Levi M. McCain, son of Jacob T. & Arminty Elizabeth (Kitts) McCain, was born on April 11, 1852 in Scott County, Missouri. He was the oldest of four children, the other three being: John F., Francis Alfonzo, and Malinda M. McCain.

Levi & Eliza McCain
SOURCE: Ancestry.com Member Submitted Photo

He grew up in Scott County, Missouri, and sometime around 1870 it seems that both of his parents died. Levi is living with his uncle, John Kitts, in Commerce township, Scott County, in 1870. He is working as a farm laborer - probably on his uncle's farm. The other children are living with their grandmother, Matilda (Midyett) Kitts, in Graves County, Kentucky. Levi was 18 years old.

Sometime around 1873, Levi had a relationship with a woman that produced a child; James H. McCain. We do not know yet what the name of this woman is, only that she and Levi had a child on February 15, 1873. At this point in time, I am not sure if they were ever married or not. It's possible that they were and she died while James was young; possibly dying as a result of childbearing.

In Charleston, Mississippi county, Missouri, on June 24, 1882, Levi was united in marriage with 15-year-old Miss Eliza Jane Knight, native of Kentucky and a daughter of James and Nancy Jane (Rail) Knight. Through their years of marriage, they produced five children: William Henry, Julie Frances, Cora Elizabeth, John Wesley, and Pearl M. McCain.

The couple raised their children in the Mississippi county area, and by 1920 Eliza and Levi are living in Elk township, Stoddard county, Missouri.

On April 4, 1923, in Elk township, Levi died. He was aged 70 years, 11 months, and 24 days old. He left a wife and five children. His daughter, Cora, died two months later in California, aged 35. Levi was buried on the fifth of April, at Bernie Cemetery; Bernie, Stoddard, Missouri.
Interesting Links:
Levi & Eliza's Find-A-Grave Memorial


Published: January 2, 2015
My E-Mail: tylerjamesmccane@gmail.com

Next Week: Eliza Jane (Knight) McCain, 3rd Great Grandmother

Wilborn Nance (c. 1827 - 1864)

Wilborn Nance (c. 1827 - 1864)

My 4th great grandfather.

Wilborn Nance, son of William & Sarah (Parker) Nance, was born in about 1827 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. In about 1854, in Wilkes County, Wilborn married the daughter of Martha Alley; Amanda Elizabeth Alley (1836-1910).

Wilborn and Amanda had four children: Frederick, William, Martha, and Welborn. In 1860 he and his three children (at the time) lived in Wilkes County. Wilborn owned $75 worth of real estate and $300 worth of personal items. He is living with his wife, children Frederick, William and Martha; his wife's mother, wife's sister, and wife's grandfather.

On November 2, 1863, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wilborn enlisted in the Civil War. The war had already been going on for about two years, and for him it was his time to serve the south. He enlisted in Company F, 52nd North Carolina Infantry.

Unfortunately, on January 26, 1864, in the hospital for the soldiers in Charlottesville, Virginia, Wilborn passed away. He was 37 years old and left behind a widow and four children ages 9, 7, 4, and 2. The two year old was my 3rd great grandfather, Wilborn Nance, Jr. Wilborn died of an illness called typhoid fever.

Typhoid fever, common during the civil war because of unsanitary conditions (very common during the war), is commonly transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces of an infected person (Typhoid fever, Wikipedia.org).

After his death, Wilborn's widow, Amanda, married Wesley Anderson. They had no children and Amanda died in 1910 in Statesville, Iredell, North Carolina.

Wilborn is buried at the University of Virginia Confederate Cemetery, but he does not have a tombstone. Hopefully one day we can get him a stone and a place where people can honor him.

Mary Brown Lambert (1815-1910)

Every Monday I will post about one of my ancestors and tell their story... So here's this weeks Ancestor Post.



My 4th great grandmother, Mary Brown Lambert (1815-1910)

Mary Brown was the daughter of William Brown and Jane (Jones) Brown and was born on March 24, 1815 in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the second of twelve children born to William and Jane.

On February 27, 1837, in Owen County, Kentucky. Mary was married to John Lambert, a native of Pennsylvania. They had 14 children (yes, 14!), my 3rd great grandmother being the 5th child. John and Mary had their first three children in Owen County, Kentucky, and the remainder in Fall Creek, Illinois, where they moved to in 1840.

Mary lived in Fall Creek until about 1870 when she and her family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal is just accross the Mississippi River and was the hometown of the ever-so-popular author Mark Twain (or Samuel Clemens). John and Mary lived at 1304 Walnut Street. She was left a widow on October 24, 1894.

Mary died on June 7, 1910  in her home in Hannibal at the age of 95 years.

At the time of her death, she left 43 grandchildren.

Jonathan Hampton and Sarah Colborn: Week 2

This is the family that really got me interested in doing family history. They are my fifth great grandparents.

Jonathan Hampton was born on November 5, 1775 in Muncy, Lycoming, Pennsylvania. Around 1796, he married Sarah Colborn, who was born on August 28, 1777 in Pennsylvania.

They had seven children: James Hampton, John Hampton, Thomas Hampton, Robert Hampton, William Hampton, Sarah Hampton, and Jonathan Hampton. I descend from James Hampton, him being my 4th great grandfather.

Around 1800, the family removed from Pennsylvania and located in Ontario, Canada, where they had the rest of their children. They both died there; Sarah dying on July 16, 1840, and Jonathan dying on April 27, 1812.

I have been doing a descendant project on this family, and have traced over 1500 descendants, and am NO WHERE near done!@

If you think or know you are related to this family, please join the facebook group I have created here.

                                   

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2014: Week 1: William Lester

William Lester was born on August 6, 1800 in Tennessee and is my fifth great grandfather on my mothers side. He settled in Wayne County, Kentucky, and in 1827 married Mary Bertram, daughter of William Bertram and Nancy Stinson.

William and Mary had a total of 16 children! All were born in Wayne County, Kentucky. They had 8 girls and 8 boys: Malinda, Andrew Jackson, Louisa, Lucinda, William Emerson, Edward, George, Francis Marion, Jacob, Sarah, James, Nancy, Barbara, Catherine, Mary, and Henry Lester. I descend from there firstborn, Malinda, who married Daniel Littrell.

William died on May 27, 1884 in Wayne County, Kentucky, and is buried with his wife and MANY descendants in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Sunnybrook.