From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Grand Bayou Methodist Church Before 1930

The photo above was not labeled, but the transom window above the door matches those in the photos below identifying the church as Grand Bayou Methodist Church in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. 

Grand Bayou was destroyed by high winds, and in 1930, this building was torn down by members. All salvageable lumber was used in the new building. 

Another post, From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Grand Bayou Methodist Church History, tells more about the history of the church. 

1911 is the date on the above photo of some kind of group or choir at Grand Bayou Methodist Church. To see larger images of many of the subjects in this photo click here.

The image below is Grand Bayou Methodist Church, dated 1905. Scroll down to see enlarged portions of the image. 

Rev. Thomas Jefferson Martin is the man with the beard in the center second row from the back. It is not known if he was the minister of the church during this time. 

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 

Marguerite Cook Clark, A Brief Statement of the History of the Grand Bayou Church, 1982, unpublished manuscript, from the privately held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Documents 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.

Grand Bayou Methodist Church, photograph, n.d.; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. 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.

Grand Bayou Methodist Church Choir, photograph, 1911; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. 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.

Grand Bayou Methodist Church large group, photograph, 1905; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. 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: Jennie Louise Giddens Britt

Jennie Louise Giddens was the daughter of Henry Benjamin Giddens and Martha Jane Vann of Clinton in Sampson County, North Carolina. 

Jennie married Mangum T. Britt on 22 April 1908 in Clinton. A detailed description of their wedding can be seen by clicking here. 

Jennie is pictured with her first child, Mangum Deleon Britt, born in 1909. She was born on 20 December 1884, making her about 25 years old in these photos. 

For family who might want to know our connection, Jennie's grandfather was David Giddens, brother of my 3rd great-grandfather, Mitchell Giddens. Mitchell was married to Latisha Britt, sister to Jennie's grandmother, Sophia Britt. And, it appears that Jennie's husband Mangum may descend from my Britt family as well. 

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 

Jennie Louise Giddens Britt with son, NC, photo, 1909; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022. 

grubba, "Jordans, Britts and beyond," public tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/64204927?cfpid=44116712787&dtid=100 : accessed 27 October 2022). 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Robert Washington Singleton

This was one of many obituaries found in Marguerite Cook Clark's vast collection.

Robert Washington Singleton was born on 3 November 1886. He was married to Irene Joyce. 

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 

 "Singleton Funeral Scheduled Today," newspaper clipping, February 1965,  unidentified newspaper, from the privately held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Obituaries 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.

her65, "R-Joyce Family Tree,"public tree,  Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/25481106?cfpid=1661823241&dtid=100 : accessed 22 October 2022). 

Friday's Photo: Henry Benjamin Giddens and Margaret Jane Vann

These photos were sent to me by another Giddens researcher. Henry was a cousin to my 2nd great-grandfather, George Lullen Giddens. George and Henry were probably well acquainted. Their mothers were sisters, their fathers were brothers, and both Henry and George were merchants in Sampson County, North Carolina. 

The couple above was not identified, but the researcher who shared the photos suspected them to be Henry Benjamin Giddens, a jeweler of Clinton, and his wife, Margaret Jane Vann. Already familiar with Henry and Margaret as the older couple on the right, I could easily see Margaret in both photos. The younger Henry's eyebrows, nose shape, cheek lines, and ears in the above image and the photo on the right showed a resemblance. I don't doubt that this is a much younger version of Henry and Margaret seen in the large group photo posted on 26 August 2022. Margaret, age 18, and Henry, age 32, were married on 21 September 1865 in Sampson County. Could this photo be a wedding photo?

If not a wedding photo, it was probably taken soon after. Martha's clothing reflects some styles seen in the 1860s. Hats were smaller, and some were modeled after those worn by men. Dresses were high around the neck, and sleeves were narrower at the wrist and broader at the elbow. Henry's clothes are difficult to see, but in the 1860s, men wore white dress shirts, loose slack coats, and pants that usually did not match the jackets. 

This photo, also not identified, is clearly Martha Jane Vann and appears to 
have been taken sometime in the 1860s or 1870s. 

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 

Family Gathering in Sampson County, NC, photo, about 1900; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022.

Henry B. Giddens and Martha J. Vann, NC, photo, 1860s; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022. 

Martha Jane Vann, NC, photo, about 1860s; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022. 

Maureen A. Taylor, Fashionable Folks Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900 (Picture Perfect Press.com, 2011).

Maureen A. Taylor, Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album (Picture Perfect Press.com, 2011).

"Women's Clothing," Landscape Change Program UVM (https://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape_new/menu.php: accessed 3 Oct 2022).

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - October 18 and October 25, 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. 

18 October 1923

25 October 1923

25 October 1923

25 October 1923

Diana

© 2022 

O. C. Harrison, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 18 October 1923, Vol. 29, No. 4, print; Texas State Library and Archives, Austin, Texas, 2019. 

O. C. Harrison, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 25 October 1923, Vol. 29, No. 5, print; Texas State Library and Archives, Austin, Texas, 2019. 

From the files of Margurerite Cook Clark: First United Methodist Church, Ringgold, 1967

This clipping of the Ringgold First United Methodist Church in Bienville Parish, Louisiana can also be seen in the Shreveport Journal issue dated 18 May 1967. Was this the dedication of a new church building? 

Reverand Robert Roy Grant and his wife Anne McGee Grant are standing in front of the doors. Click on their names to see their obituaries on the Louisiana Conference pages of The United Methodist Church website. 

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  

First United Methodist Church, Ringgold, photograph, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. 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.

OneNote is my Default Printer

I use Windows 11, but most computers' directions should be similar. Go to Settings, 
choose Bluetooth & devices, choose Printers & Scanners, go to Send to OneNote, 
and Set as default.

About three years ago, I set OneNote as my default printer. I use less paper and ink, my office is much less cluttered, and there are seldom any piles. Almost everything that I regularly printed on paper now prints to OneNote.

Receipts, bills, travel reservations, and correspondence needed for only a short period are printed to OneNote and deleted when no longer needed. 

Reading materials such as genealogy society newsletters and quarterlies are printed to OneNote, and I often read them on my phone or iPad when traveling or waiting for appointments. 

Conference and webinar handouts are printed to OneNote, and I take notes directly on the handout on my computer or iPad. 

Items printed to OneNote are eventually 

• deleted, 
• moved to an appropriate OneNote notebook,
• printed to a PDF using the dropdown "Microsoft Print to PDF," and the PDF is added to my digital files, 
• OR, copied and pasted to a Word document and added to the appropriate digital file. This last option is used when I know I may want to add to, edit, or be able to copy parts of a document. 

My Other OneNote Posts

Using OneNote as Temporary Storage for My Genealogy Research

Take a Look at My OneNote Notebooks

Creating My All-In-One Genealogy Research Log in OneNote

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 

Friday's Photo: A Giddens Family Picture - 1914

This photo, probably taken in Goldsboro in Wayne County, North Carolina, is that of some members of the family of Lewis Devereux Giddens Sr. and his wife Margaret Ireland Giddens. The photo was taken in 1914. Lewis died in 1909. 

Lewis Devereux Giddens Sr.
1835-1909

Margaret Louisa Ireland
1841-1915

Above is Dr. Marvin Leroi Smoot Sr., his wife, Margaret Louisa Giddens, and his sons. Marvin Leroi Smoot Jr. is on the bicycle, and James Ross Smoot is the baby. Daughter, Margaret Virginia Smoot is pictured on the right and can be seen sitting next to her grandmother in the photo at the top of the page. Margaret Louisa Giddens was the daughter of Lewis D. and Margaret Ireland Giddens.

Mary Emma Giddens, daughter of Lewis D. and 

Margaret Ireland Giddens

Ross Ireland Giddens, son of Lewis D. and 

Margaret Ireland Giddens

Merle Louise Weaver, daughter of Eliza Newton Giddens and 

Robert E. Weaver and granddaughter of Lewis D. and 

Margaret Ireland Giddens

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 

"Giddens Family Photo," photograph, 1914; scanned image, original photograph from the privately-held collection of Kathryn Ryan, NC, 2022.

kgrijfh, "Ryan,"private tree, Ancestry, Private tree accessed with permission, 3 October 2022. 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Second Reunion of the William Wimberly Family - 1979

Very little information is needed from me for this post. The programs and the newspaper clipping give all of the details. Scroll to the end of this post to see the program for the First Reunion of the William Wimberly Family in 1978. 

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  

Wimberly Family Reunion programs and newspaper clipping, 1978 and 1979; scanned images, from the privately held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos and documents 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. Used with permission.