Friday’s Photo: Karl Wimberly and Helen Estelle Barker: Getting Karl’s Name Right

Karl Bryan Wimberly was the third child of John Lawson Jr. and Alice Martha Bryan. He was born in Bienville Parish on 18 May 1890. Helen Estelle Barker, born 19 Oct 1894, was the daughter of Wellington Maxwell "Mackey" Barker and Sarah "Sallie" Elizabeth Gilliland. Karl and Helen were married in 1915. They had four children and lived near Ringgold, where Karl farmed. Karl died in 1953 and Helen in 1984. Karl, Helen, and many family members are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish. 

In a previous post that included photos of a younger Karl, I wrote his name as Karl Bryant Wimberly, unlike today's post, where it is Karl Bryan Wimberly. I found "Karl Bryant Wimberly's" short biography on page 270 of the Wimberly Family History, but on earlier pages, in the index, and under a family photo in that same book, he was listed as "Karl Bryan Wimberly."  

Because his mother’s maiden name was Bryan, Bryan seemed more likely to me than Bryant. My own maiden name was Bryan, and I know from experience how often people added a “t” to it. Still, I wanted proof.

Karl’s headstone, obituary, and death record all give his middle name as Bryant. Those records were likely based on information provided by the same person after his death. Earlier records tell a different story. Many simply show him as Karl B. Wimberly, but the Social Security Application and Claims Index, his World War II draft registration card, his daughter’s birth record, and his World War I draft registration card all give his name as Karl Bryan Wimberly.

That would have been enough evidence on its own, but the clearest proof was Karl’s own signature on his World War I draft registration card: “Karl Bryan Wimberly.” For me, that settles the question.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page , where I share each post along with other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Diana Bryan Quinn, “Friday’s Photo: Karl Bryant Wimberly,” blog post, Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/fridays-photo-karl-bryant-wimberly.html  :  posted 3 February 2023; accessed 3 April 2026).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90292434/karl_bryant-wimberly: accessed April 3, 2026), memorial page for Karl Bryant Wimberly (18 May 1890–25 Feb 1953), Find a Grave Memorial ID 90292434, citing Wimberly Cemetery, Bienville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).

Karl and Helen Barker Wimberly, photograph, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004.

"Louisiana, Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960", FamilySearch  (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3MD-749 : accessed 2 April 2026), Entry for Karl Bryant Wimberly and J I Wimberly, 25 Feb 1953.

“Louisiana, U.S., State Birth Records, 1911–1923,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 3 April 2026), entry for Wilbur Wimberly, born 7 March 1923, Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, certificate no. 4186; naming Karl Bryan Wimberly as father.

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston, Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 271-273.

“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 3 April 2026), entry for Karl Bryan Wimberly; citing Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007.

"United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ8C-JBP : accessed 2 April 2026), Karl Bryan Wimberly, 1917-1918.

"United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X596-CJX : accessed 2 April 2026), Entry for Karl Bryan Wimberly, 1942.

Friday's Photo: May Wright and Bella Along With Baby, Palma Jean Clark

This was one of those photos I thought would be easy to research, but not so much. 

The baby is Palma Jean Clark, daughter of Marguerite Cook and her husband, Albert Clark of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Palma was born on 20 March 1936. I first met her [Palma C. Beckett] in 2014 when she graciously allowed me to go through her mother's genealogy files. After learning she had hundreds of old photos, I made the 1,800-mile trip to her home in Texas two more times. 

It appears that Marguerite Cook Clark wrote on the back of the photo. Note that the following is a transcription of a handwritten note from 1936. It includes terminology that was commonly used at the time but is now considered outdated and inappropriate. I’ve preserved the original wording for historical accuracy and context.

Palma Jean Clark
1936-2023

This is 2 mo. The colored friends are working for gramma. You should have seen the pink roses in the background . . . The rest is not legible as parts are torn away. Later, someone wrote the following:

Mae Wright 

Bella 

with Pal 

at 2 months.

 

In 1936, both of Marguerite’s grandmothers were living in Bienville Parish. Her paternal grandmother was Sophronia Pauline Porter Cook, and her maternal grandmother was Laura Frances Bryan Martin. 

Unfortunately, Mae Wright and Bella could not be identified. There were several Wright families in Bienville Parish and the surrounding areas, so I am hoping someone recognizes them as family when I post to the Bienville Parish Facebook groups. 

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

© 2025

Diana Quinn, #1 Diana's Bryan-Quinn Family, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/45260559?cfpid=6334928766: accessed 6 July 2025).

May Wright and Bella, Along With Baby, Palma Jean Clark, photograph, 1936; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2025. 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: Uncle Tom White

Z. Thomas White, known as "Uncle Tom White," was born on 29 October 1869, likely in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. He died on 10 July 1956 in Caddo Parish and is buried at Mount Olive Cemetery in Bienville Parish. His gravestone reads “Uncle Tom White,” matching the name on the photo.

He was one of nine children of Philemon White and Mylydia McGee White, who settled in Bienville Parish before the Civil War. The name “Uncle Tom” may have come naturally, as he had many nieces and nephews through his eight siblings. Tom never married and appears in census records living with his parents and later with his brother, David M. White.

Records list him variously as Z. Thomas White, Zae T. White, Tom Z. White, Zacarier Thomas White, Ezekiel White, Zac White, and Zackhry Thomas White. 

This photo came from Mary V. Smith's collection. She wrote that Niler [Nila] Sledge Edwards gave her mother, Anna Laura Martin, the family photo album of Henry Collin Sledge of Bienville Parish. Mary also wrote that she copied the names as found on the photos. 

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

© 2025

Billie Jean Poland, History of Bienville Parish, Vol. IIhe  (Bossier City, Louisiana: Everett Companies, 1990), p. 798-799, images 808–809; digitized at Bienville Parish Library Digital Archives (https://bienville.advantage-preservation.com : accessed 22 May 2025).

"Tom/Thomas White" search, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 May 2025), search results for “Tom/Thomas White,” born 1869, Bienville Parish, Louisiana; results included entries from U.S. Census Records, Louisiana Statewide Death Index, 1819–1964, Find a Grave Index, and Public Member Trees.

"Uncle Tom White," photograph, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

Friday's Photo: Frances L. Bryan - Bienville Parish, LA to Erath County, TX

Frances L. Bryan 1859 to 1894
This appears to be a copy of the tintype seen below. Using Mark Thompson's
Historical Photo Analyzer at ChatGpt, I can surmise that due to her age and
the style of clothing, this photo was likely taken between 1875 and 1880.
As the family left Bienville in about 1876, and they were in Erath County
by 1878, I am unable to identify the location where the photo was taken.

This is likely the original image,
and the hand-colored version was
probably a later copy.

Frances L. Bryan was born in Louisiana on February 13, 1859, to twenty-two-year-
old parents, Terrell Bryan and Harriet Louisa Albritton. Frances was the second of their ten known children—her older brother Joseph had died in infancy two years before her birth. Family stories suggest that Frances may have had an intellectual disability, or possibly epilepsy. 

Frances spent the first part of her childhood in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. In 1861, when she was about two years old, her father joined the Louisiana Infantry. During his time away, Harriet and her children lived with Harriet's mother, Hollon Albritton.  By the war's end, Frances was the eldest of three girls, with at least six more children to be born to Harriet and Terrell by 1884. 

In about 1876, the Bryan family relocated to Eastland County, Texas, looking for new opportunities.  Frances was almost 20 when they moved to Erath County in 1878. Unlike her siblings, who married and started their own families, Frances did not marry or have children. She passed away on December 24, 1894, in Erath County at the age of 35. 

Frances’ cemetery stone at the Old Valley Grove Cemetery near Stephenville in Erath County lists her death as occurring in 1904. However, Terrell and Harriet Bryan's family Bible records her passing in 1894 at the age of 35 years, 10 months, and 11 days. I have not found any other records or reports confirming her death. She does not appear in the 1900 census, which also states that only six of Terrell and Harriet's children were still living at that time. Those six were Terrell L. Bryan Biggs, Hollon S. Bryan Latta, Laura L. Bryan Keith, Alice A. Bryan Hammett, Dorothy (Dollie) E. H. Bryan Wylie, and my grandfather, Redic E. Bryan.

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

© 2025 

"Frances L. Bryan," colorized photograph, about 1880; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Jane Aebersold, CO, 2013.

"Frances L. Bryan," photograph, ca.1880; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of D.B. Quinn, 2022.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28974168/frances_l-bryan: accessed February 1, 2025), memorial page for Frances L. “Fanny” Bryan (13 Feb 1869–24 Dec 1904), Find a Grave Memorial ID 28974168, citing Old Valley Grove Cemetery, Erath County, Texas, USA; Maintained by LookingForFamily (contributor 47127361).

Mark Thompson’s Historical Photo Analyzer (ChatGPT), response to a question by Diana Quinn, February 28, 2025. Available at https://chatgpt.com/g/g-gbEbpBXtc-mark-thompson-s-historical-photo-analyzer. 

Memories written by Terrell Little "Bunch" Biggs, 13 July 1937; digital copy, original copy held by Pat Waas, TX.

Terrell Bryan Family Bible Records, 1836 - 1927, The Illustrated Polyglot Household Bible (Philadelphia: G. Zeigler, McCurdy, & Co., 1870), "Family Record," privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA, 2021

Who Are They? A Family Involved in a Peach Harvest in Northwest Louisiana

My title is more of an assumption than a fact. This seems to be a peach harvest, and the adults might belong to the same family. I’m not sure where this was taken, but it was probably in Northwest Louisiana, as these photos were found in the Marguerite Cook Clark Collection, most of which were from that area.

I thought that the people in the photo would be easy to find, but I have yet to positively identify any of them. 

Dating this was also difficult. The clothing might put this around 1910. 

The back of the photo has writing identifying all four persons. The man is identified as Kyle, the woman on the left is Checkie [maybe Chickie], the woman on the right is May, and the older woman sitting in the middle is Grandma Ha. . . - could be Harris, Hattie, Hallie, or any number of words beginning with Ha. 

I looked for Kyle as a given name in four years of census records in Bienville and surrounding counties. I came up with nothing but noted that Kyle could be his surname. I found this surname spelled as Kyle, Kyles, and Kiels.

Does this sound like your family? This post can be shared from my Moments in Time Facebook page.

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

© 2024 

Harvesting Peaches, 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.

Friday's Photo: Forgotten Faces Found in the Marguerite Cook Clark Collection - Part 1

I discovered long ago that the best way to identify old photos is to keep sharing them, hoping someone with the same image will recognize them. Over the next few Fridays, I will post unidentified photos from the Marguerite Cook Clark collection. 

Marguerite Cook Clark grew up in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and was my third cousin. She descends from Joseph, the son of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan. As the family genealogist, she was the keeper of her family’s photos, documents, and letters, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to view and scan her collection.

Below are the first six unidentified photos in Marguerite's collection. Please email me if you can identify any photos or have the same or similar images. 

Click to send 

 

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

© 2024 

Unidentified photographs, 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: A Play at Hope High School, Bienville Parish, Louisiana

A reader sent me this program from a play at Hope High School in 1922. Her great-grandmother, Maggie Frye, played Mrs. Gordon and Miss Madden, and her great-grandfather, Charlie Wedgeworth, played a lineman. In reading my past posts, I saw that 1922 was the year an addition was added to Hope School, and from that time, it was usually known as Hope High School. 

"Hope School" is written on the back of this photo from the Frye Family Collection. 

I had hoped to have photos of students named—I had two. You can see them at the links below. 

• Friday's Photo: Clara and Kyle Davis of Bienville Parish

• Friday's Photo: Charles Lavelle Davis Jr.

Other posts about Hope School:

• A Revisit to Hope School

• Friday's Photo: Hope School - Was this 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

© 2024 

"A Kentucky Colonel / Belle," digital image, original program from the collection of  Chantel Freeman, September 2024. Used with permission. 

"Hope School," original photograph from the Frye Family collection, C. Frye, CA.  Accessed June 6, 2016, and June 3, 2019. Used with permission.

Friday's Photo: Josie Bryan Cook

Josie Bryan Cook has been mentioned many times on this blog. However, not all of her photos have been posted. Joseph "Josie" Sarah Catherine Bryan was the biological daughter of Joseph Bryan and Sarah Wimberly and the adopted daughter of James Bryan (brother to Joseph) and Alice Wimberly (sister to Sarah). 

Josie married Joseph "Joe" W. Cook on November 20, 1873 in Bienville Parish. They had five children - Lula Laura Cook, Karl Franklin Cook, Alice Belle Cook, Mary Elizabeth Cook, and James Bryan Cook. 

Joe and Josie are buried in Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Other posts that feature Josie can be found at the links below. 

Friday's Photo: The Home of Joseph W. and Josie Bryan Cook - 1925 - Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Bienville Parish, Louisiana - The Lost Scrapbook

Friday's Photo: Josie Bryan Cook and William B. Trott Saved Our Family History  

Friday's Photo: An Important Celebration in Bienville Parish

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Joe and Josie Bryan Cook

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

© 2024 

Josie Bryan Cook, photographs, 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: Alice Bryan Williams - Bienville Parish, Louisiana

These beautiful photos were found in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection where they were labeled with green ink by Marguerite's mother - Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook.

Alice Bryan was the daughter of Augustus Reddick Bryan and Erie Ontario Nix, both of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. She had two older sisters - Tulette Bryan and Alma Bryan. Also living with her family was cousin, Albert Brown Bryan, whose parents died when he was very young. 

Alice married Clarence Emory Williams in 1920. They had three children; John Reddick, Aylmer Bryan, and Lorris Winston. Alice and Clarence 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

© 2024 

Alice Bryan Williams photos, 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.

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 326.

Friday's Photo: Carrie Lou Murph Woodard of Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Mary Virginia Smith took this photo in 1943. Carrie Lou Murph Woodard was the fifth child of Edwin Britton and Alice Martha Wimberly Murph (daughter of Charles Perry Wimberly). Carrie was born 15 Sept 1887 and married John Marshall Woodard in 1905. They had five children; Vance, Bess, Emile, Guy, and Mary Stella. 

Carrie Lou and John Marshall are buried in Providence Cemetery, Ringgold, 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

© 2024 

Carrie Lou Murph Woodard, photograph, 1943; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 372-373.