Friday's Photo: John Sledge

This photo came from the collection of Mary Virginia Martin Smith. She wrote that this and other photos marked with "ne" were from a photo album given to her mother, Anna Laura Martin, by a Sledge cousin, Niler Edwards of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Although Mary wrote Niler, the cousin's name was probably Nila. The album originally belonged to Nila's father, Henry Collin Sledge. 

John Sledge was the brother of Henry Collin Sledge. I have seen his name written as John A. and John Aaron. While looking for information about the community of Iverson, John Sledge was seen in some of the records. I know that he was a merchant and postmaster. According to information at Find A Grave, he was married three times. His first wife, Sarah, was the daughter of Miles L. and Sarah Lawson Bryan who may have been closely connected to my Reddick Bryan family of Bienville Parish. 

Looking at other photos in this collection, I saw two unidentified photos that looked very much like the man in the above photo. What do you think? 

John Sledge's obituary with an additional, but very fuzzy, photograph can be seen here. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Sources

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24290958/nila-edwards: accessed 22 July 2022), memorial page for Nila Sledge Edwards (22 Jun 1893–10 Jun 1969), Find a Grave Memorial ID 24290958, citing Providence Cemetery, Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by Nancy E. Collins (contributor 47113696).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97619397/john-aaron-sledge: accessed 22 July 2022), memorial page for John Aaron Sledge (12 Apr 1840–14 Apr 1924), Find a Grave Memorial ID 97619397, citing Old Castor Cemetery, Castor, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by KC (contributor 46825020).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106989397/sarah-sledge: accessed 22 July 2022), memorial page for Sarah Bryan Sledge (15 Jun 1842–28 Dec 1883), Find a Grave Memorial ID 106989397; Maintained by Samuel Taylor Geer (contributor 46925792)Burial Details Unknown.

JPERSONAL, The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana), 20 August 1898, p.5; database with images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106091932/j-a-sledge-of-iverson/: accessed 22 July 2022).

Narrative about 110A and the rest of Part 5, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004. 

Sledge Photos 117, 122, and 127, photographs, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004. 

Southern Postal Matters, The Times-Democrat (New Orleans), 7 March 1902, p.4; database with images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106091792/john-a-sledge-postmaster/: accessed 22 July 2022).

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Unlabeled Photos - Could this be Joe Mangham Wimberly or a Daughter?

These photos were not labeled and I would not have any idea as to who they might be if Palma, Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter, had not said, "Don't these look like Vashti?" 

I met Vashti in 2007 when she was one of two Ringgold residents who showed my cousin and me the Bryan and Wimberly cemeteries in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Vashti was beautiful and looked much younger than her 89 years. She took us back to her home where we ate lunch in a gazebo and talked about family history. 

Vashti's parents were Andrew Lawson Wimberly and Joe Mangham. Her grandmother was Alice Martha Bryan, daughter of Joseph B. Bryan and Sarah Margaret Wimberly. Joseph B. Bryan and Terrell Bryan, my great-grandfather, were brothers. Vashti and I were third cousins. 

Looking at the clothing in the photos, I would think that the
photos were taken in the 1920s or maybe even before. The young girl seated is wearing spats. These were popular before WWI and I have seen some in photos through the late 1920s. My aunt wore a white dress similar to the one in the photo in 1923. The shoes with the strap were also popular in the 1920s. 

Vashti was born in 1918. She had a sister, Hallie, born in 1914, and a younger sister, Julia, born in 1921. If I am correct about the clothing, this might be Hallie, but probably not Vashti or Julia. It could also be Joe Mangham Wimberly, mother to Vashti. She has a similar smile, light eyes, and the same nose. 

If my clothing date estimates are NOT correct, then this could be Vashti or other members of her family. The photos could also be of two different persons from the same family or maybe not from this Wimberly - Mangham family at all. 

I would love to hear from you if you know more about these photos!

Joe Mangham Wimberly 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Mangham - Wimberly clippings, 1955-1966; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Unknown photos of girls, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Friday's Photo: Tom Wimberly and His Dog

Hello Margarite: I'll send you this for Xmas. No Jim's baby hair nearly all come out and the other isn't long enough to curl yet. Tom don't look like he ever had any curls now. Lawson is ready at [not sure about this last sentence - Lawson was Joe's husband]
Bye Bye, Joe. 

Sent on 22 December 1909 and addressed to Mrs. E. C. Cook, Ringgold, La, R.F.D.#1

This post card was sent to Mary Marguerite Martin Cook of Ringgold in Bienville Parish, Louisiana from Joe Mangham Wimberly also of Ringgold. Both women were busy young mothers at that time. Joe's two oldest children were Tom Lawson Wimberly and Jim Green Wimberly. Tom is the child in the above photo. 

Mary Marguerite Martin and Edward C. Cook were the parents of Marguerite Cook Clark. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

Tom Wimberly with dog, 1909; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - September 20, 1923

My grandparents, Redic E. Bryan and Myrtie Hairston, and my great-grandparents, Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Criswell, moved to Baylor County in 1905. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was born in Seymour in 1920. He was the youngest of seven children born to Redic and Myrtie. 

In April 2019, I visited the Texas State Library and Archives to read Baylor County Banner issues that could not be found online or on microfilm. I photographed articles with information about my father's family who lived in Seymour. While sorting through my family finds, I realized I had photos of articles that might interest others looking for family. I have pictures of numerous articles from 1923 and a few from other years. I will post as time allows. 

Thank you to Matt Gwinn at the Baylor County Banner for giving me permission to post these clippings.  

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022

O. C. Harrison, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 20 September 1923, Vol. 28, No. 52, print; Texas State Library and Archives, Austin, Texas, 2019. 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Andrew Lawson Wimberly and Joe Mangham Wimberly of Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Last Friday, I posted a photo of Joe Mangham who married Andrew Lawson Wimberly. Andrew Lawson Wimberly was a cousin to Marguerite Cook Clark's mother, Marguerite "Maggie" Cook on both his mother's Bryan side and his father's Wimberly side. Several items regarding this family, including the clippings below, were found in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection. 

The handwritten death date contradicts the 
handwritten date on the following obituary.
Her actual date of death was 4 May 1960.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Sources 

"Louisiana Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLHZ-76GJ : 2 April 2020), Joe Mangham Wimberly, 4 May 1960; citing Ringgold, Bienville, Louisiana, United States, certificate number 7379, State Archives, Baton Rouge; FamilySearch digital folder 005052340.

Mangham - Wimberly clippings, 1955-1966; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Friday's Photo: Joe Mangham Wimberly of Bienville Parish

Today's photo comes from the collection of Mary Martin Smith. The "mc collection" seen on the label indicates that Mary Martin Smith copied the original that was found in the Marguerite Cook Clark collection. However, I did not see the exact photo when scanning photos in the Marguerite Cook Clark collection. I found only the faded photo seen below leading me to the conclusion that there is still more to see. 

Did Joe Mangham Wimberly have a nickname? On this
photo, there is a word following her name in quotation marks. 

Joe Mangham was the daughter of James Green Mangham and Julia Frances Murph. She was a graduate of Female College in Mansfield, Louisiana, and taught school for a short period. She married Andrew Lawson Wimberly, child of John Lawson Wimberly and Alice Martha Bryan. 

Andrew and Joe had eight children:

Tom Lawson Wimberly

Jim Green Wimberly

Frank Lee Wimberly

Hallie Wimberly

Linda May Wimberly

Sarah Alice Wimberly

Vashti Wimberly

Julia Fannie Wimberly

Joe, Andrew, and their children are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105942827/josephine-wimberly : accessed 08 July 2022), memorial page for Josephine “Joe” Mangham Wimberly, Find a Grave Memorial ID 105942827, citing Wimberly Cemetery, Bienville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA ; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).

Joe Mangham Wimberly, photograph, n.d.; scanned image held by D.B. Quinn, 2022, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

Joe Mangham Wimberly photograph, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 262-263.

Benjamin Reed, a Patriot and my 4th Great-Grandfather

Greetings on July 4th! [1]

 

Patriots: colonists who rebelled against British

control during the American Revolution.[2] 

 

Today is an appropriate day to write about my 4th great-grandfather Benjamin Reed (also seen as Read). Benjamin was a Patriot serving in the Revolutionary War as a minute man in the Lexington Alarm and served continuously until discharged on 29 November 1777.[3]

According to his pension record, Benjamin Reed was born on 3 May 1752 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.[4] His parents are said to be Peter Reed and Lucy Hugens from Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.[5] 

In 1775 Benjamin was a young man living in the town of Cummington in the County of Hampshire, Massachusetts. It is thought that he responded to the Lexington Alarm, marching about 100 miles, with a detachment of Minute Men from the town of Williamsburg, Massachusetts, and serving from April 21 to April 27.[6] 

After Lexington, Benjamin marched on to Roxbury, where he served during the battle at Bunker Hill. He served throughout the war and is known to be at Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Hope, Crown Point, Morristown, New Jersey, Dorchester, Cambridge, and the Battle of Bennington. It appears that he was primarily employed as a guard.[7] Guards served in various duties, from guarding prisoners or structures to providing security to officers. When marching guards, were posted at the side, front, and rear of the troops.[8] 

Documentation, showing Benjamin and
Hulda's marriage date and place,
was found in the pension record.[11]

Benjamin Reed married Hulda Pratt, of Bridgewater, on 3 December 1778 in the city of Abbington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.[9] By 1779 they were living in Woodford, Bennington County, Vermont, where Benjamin was one of the early settlers in Woodford, and his son Benjamin was said to be the first child born in Woodford on 11 August 1779.[10]  

I have documentation showing that Benjamin and Hulda had children Benjamin, Calvin, Luther, Almira, and my 3rd great-grandmother, Nancy.[12] I am sure there are others, but documentation needs to be found. 

Benjamin and his family left Woodford and moved to Wardsboro in Windham County, Vermont.[13] By 1813 the family was living in Putney in Windham County.[14] 

Benjamin Reed was the Town Clerk of Woodford from 1792-1803.[15] 

Benjamin Reed
1752-1835 [19]

Benjamin's occupation after the war is unknown. In Woodford, he served as the Town Clerk from 1792-1803 and was a land owner in both Bennington and Windham Counties.[16] He applied for a pension for his service in 1834.  After his death, Huldah applied for and received a pension.[17] 

Benjamin Reed died on 10 January 1835. Hulda died on 17 May 1842. They are buried in East Putney Cemetery. [18] 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

    1. Patriotic Greetings, postcard, n.d.; scanned image, original card found in the privately held collection of Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA, 2022. 

    2. "Loyalists and Patriots," si.edu  (https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Loyalists-and-Patriots.pdf : accessed 25 June 2022).

    3. “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database and images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/49769:1995 : accessed 25 June 2022), for Benjamin Reed, images 266 to 320; citing "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files" (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

    4. Ibid.

    5. John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635-1902 Vol. I  (no publisher named, 1901). 

    6. “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database with images, Ancestry.com,  Benjamin Reed, 1834. 

    7. Ibid.

    8."Guard Duty During the American Revolution," RevolutionaryWarJournal.com (https://www.revolutionarywarjournal.com/guard-duty/: accessed 3 July 2022). 

    9. “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database with images, Ancestry.com,  Benjamin Reed, 1834.

    10. Lewis Cass Aldrich, History of Bennington County, Vt. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. (D. Mason & co, Syracuse, NY: 1889), 475-476; digital images, HathiTrust  (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yul.11775368_000_00&view=1up&seq=1&skin=2021 : accessed 25 June 2022).

    11. “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database with images, Ancestry.com, Benjamin Reed, 1834.

    12. Aldrich, History of Bennington County, Vt. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, 475-476. Also, John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635-1902 Vol. I  (no publisher named, 1901). Also, "Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999," digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9084/images/005556277_00146?pId=959646: accessed 27 June 2022) Calvin Reed. Also, "Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999," digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1012159:9084?_phsrc=yzP8246&_phstart=successSource&gsfn=luther&gsln=reed&ml_rpos=1&queryId=8ee4ed59aa9a4a8ba3b0ecbb0642bf6c accessed 27 June 2022), Luther Reed, Folder 4, Wrp5-90743, Bundle 11-12, 1851-1852.

    13. “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database with images, Ancestry.com, Benjamin Reed, 1834.

    14. "List of Letters remaining in the Post Office at Putney, Vt. 31st March 1813," Reporter (Brattleboro, VT), 24 April 1813, p. 4; database with images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A10CE5579CE9162A8%40GB3NEWS-10F57F3DA3140E88%402383358-10F57F3E2446ED20%403? : accessed 26 June 2022).

    15. Announcement about taxes, Vermont Gazette (Bennington, VT), 15 November 1793, p. 3; database with images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A10380B74B5F0BB28%40GB3NEWS-105B61A5CFEF2073%402376259-105B61A65258BF23%402-105B61A7B244A76B%40Advertisement? : accessed 26 June 2022). Also, Woodford, The Vermont Gazette (Bennington, VT), 4 Feb 1876,  p.2; database and images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71374880/benjamin-reed-town-clerk-vt/accessed : 18 Feb 2021). 

    16. Windham County, Vermont, Deed Book 3:476, Benjamin Reed to Joseph Knowlton, 21 Nov 1807; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHS-GH5G?i=527&cat=140883 : accessed 26 Sept 2020), image 528.  Also, Bennington County, Vermont, Benjamin Reed to Asa Barney, 17 Nov 1801; transcription, no deed book or page number given,  from Volume 1 of Woodford Records, copied and arranged, 1944, by Velma Brunins under direction of Henry B Walbridge for Bennington Battle Monument and Historical Association. 

    17. “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database with images, Ancestry.com,  Benjamin Reed, 1834.

    18. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27499358/huldah-read : accessed 04 July 2022), memorial page for Huldah Pratt Read, Find a Grave Memorial ID 27499358, citing East Putney Cemetery, East Putney, Windham County, Vermont; Maintained by Cynthia Kaley (contributor 51056978). Also, Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27499357/benjamin-read : accessed 04 July 2022), memorial page for Benjamin Read, Find a Grave Memorial ID 27499357, citing East Putney Cemetery, East Putney, Windham County, Vermont; Maintained by Cynthia Kaley (contributor 51056978).

    19. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27499357/benjamin-read : accessed 04 July 2022), memorial page for Benjamin Read (3 May 1753–10 Jan 1835), Find a Grave Memorial ID 27499357, citing East Putney Cemetery, East Putney, Windham County, Vermont, USA ; Maintained by Cynthia Kaley (contributor 51056978); Photograph of gravestone contributed by Donna G. Dunham (contributor 46871624).

Friday's Photo: Summer in Bienville Parish

I was in Palma's dining room in Texas when I saw this photo, probably taken in Ringgold of six young girls in the 1950s. I remember asking permission to post it as I thought it was so sweet. Palma was so gracious - she let this stranger (me) who she called a shirt-tail cousin (actually a 3rd cousin once removed) sit in her dining room and scan photos and documents. I traveled 1800+ miles (three times) to see her mother's collection and still don't think I saw everything she had.

This photo, found in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection of family photos, shows six young girls. The girls' first names are at the bottom of the photo.  The first girl's name appears to be Texas, but please correct me if I am wrong. Texas is followed by Peggy, Patsy, Doris Jean, Beverly, and Palma. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Summer - Palma and five other girls, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.