Friday's Photo: Abb Wimberly

This photo, found in the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark, is of a young Abb Wimberly. As most of the images in this collection were taken in Northwest Louisiana, it is assumed that this photo was as well. 

To date this card, I looked for known subjects in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection with similar cabinet cards. The four known subjects are pictured below; Joseph Allen Woodard, born in 1883; Jake Cook, born in 1878; Maggie Martin (Marguerite's mother), born in 1887; and George Moore, born in 1884. 

The ages of each subject in the photos were estimated, and it appears that the photos were taken in the 1890s or early 1900s. 

A search of  Wimberly Family History compiled by Vera Meek Wimberly revealed one possible candidate, James Abner Wimberly, born on 14 March 1881. James Abner was the son of Jesse Wimberly and Jane Elizabeth Crumpton. He married Callie Mae Wimberly, and they had no children. 

If James Abner Wimberly is in your tree, do you have photos to compare? 

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 

Abb Wimberly 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.

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 551.

Friday's Photo: Benjamin Madison Sledge

Benjamin Madison Sledge
1887 - 1960

This photo is from Mary V. Smith's collection. Benjamin Madison Sledge, born in Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, was the son of  Milton James Sledge and Nancy Loftin. He served in France in the US Army Infantry during WWI. 

Benjamin Sledge was married to Ella Watson. They lived in Red River Parish, where he was a farmer. Both Benjamin and Ella are buried in the Holly Springs Cemetery in Martin, Louisiana. 

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 

Benjamin Madison Sledge, 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.

Ella Watson Sledge, The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana), 4 September 1984, p.8; database with images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116905206/ella-watson-sledge/: accessed 19 January 2023).

"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLR-HR4T : 11 January 2022), Ben, ; Burial, Martin, Red River Parish, Louisiana, United States of America, Holley Springs Cemetery; citing record ID 104818672, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. Obituary is posted on the site. 

"Louisiana Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLXZ-R1HW : 2 April 2020), Ben M Sledge, 06 Sep 1960; citing Coushatta, Red River, Louisiana, United States, certificate number 14817, State Archives, Baton Rouge; FamilySearch digital folder 005052355.

"United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W3G1-C9T2 : 26 October 2019), Benjamin Maddison Sledge, 10 Aug 1919; citing Military Service, NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985), various roll numbers.

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - November 15, 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

© 2023

Sources 

O. C. Harrison, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 15 November 1923, Vol. 8, print; Texas State Library and Archives, Austin, Texas, 2019. 

Palma Beckett, my Shirttail Cousin

Palma Beckett 1936-2023

Palma called me her shirttail cousin. This refers to a relative who is distantly related. Palma and I were fourth cousins once removed - both descendants of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan, who migrated to Northwest Louisiana in 1838 and settled near Ringgold in Bienville Parish. 

This clipping was found in Palma's mother's 
collection. It was clipped from The
Shreveport Journal, 25 March 1936. A clear
copy can be found by clicking here.

Palma was never on my genealogical radar, but her mother, Marguerite Cook Clark, was at the top of my list. I had a letter written in 1977 to my father from Marguerite Cooke Clark responding to his questions about family. I had been researching my Dad's Bryan family since 1998, and early on, I amassed a collection of Marguerite Cook Clark's correspondence with at least seven different researchers. Marguerite Cook Clark of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, was the Bryan family expert.

Palma, her parents, and her cat

Mary "Cup," Palma's sister, contacted me via email after finding a letter written by her mother and transcribed on my website. Learning of my interest in Marguerite Cook Clark's research, she suggested I visit Palma in Alpine, Texas, to look at the research and family photos.  

Palma 2014

I met Palma, at her home, on April 28, 2014. She had her mother's files in crates on the dining room table. I spent the day photographing documents, newspaper clippings, her mother's notes, and a few photos. 

Palma was a great storyteller. She told family stories learned from her mother and grandmother, and she knew the stories so well it was as if she had lived them. She showed me the obituaries she had transcribed, family bibles, and her weaving. Nearing the end of my day in Alpine, she brought out some old photos. Seeing my interest, she opened an antique domed trunk filled to the top with very old family photos. 

I made two more trips to Alpine to photograph and scan the photos in the trunk and numerous photos that Palma shared from family albums. Her generosity has helped me learn much more about my family's history and allowed me to share with others interested in the families from the Bienville Parish area. 

Palma died on January 5th, 2023, in North Carolina. Her obituary can be found at this link. 

Palma made sure I saw this photo. She liked that three generations are pictured; Palma, 
her grandmother, Maggie Cook, and her mother, Marguerite Cook Clark. 

Palma and friends in Ringgold (1940s) - to see this photo enlarged, visit my post, 
Friday's Photo: Summer in Bienville Parish

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 

Photos of Palma and the newspaper clipping about her birth, n.d.; digital images held by D. B. Quinn, 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