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: Karl Bryant Wimberly

This photo was found in the collection of Mary V. Smith; however,
the "mc" under the photo indicates it is one she photographed in
Marguerite Clark's collection. I scanned many of Marguerite Cook Clark's
photos. This must be one I did not see. 

Note that Karl was actually Karl Bryan Wimberly, not Bryant. See my more recent post, Friday’s Photo: Karl Wimberly and Helen Estelle Barker: Getting Karl’s Name Right.

According to the Wimberly Family History, Karl Bryant Wimberly was the son of John Lawson Jr. and Alice Martha Bryan making him a descendant of both the William Wimberly and Reddick Bryan families of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. 

Karl, a farmer, married Helen Estelle Barker on 30 May 1915. They had four children.  Karl died in 1953 and Helen in 1984. Karl, Helen, and many family members are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish. 

This younger photo of Karl Wimberly and the obituary were found in the collection 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

© 2023 

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

Karl Bryant Wimberly photograph and clipping, 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), 271-273.

Friday's Photo: Three Bienville Parish Families - Sledge, Martin, and Bryan

This photo and the photos below were found in a digitized collection sent to me by Mary V. Smith.[1] Mary labeled all of the photos with birth and death dates along with other remarks. When I post her photos, I will include the written information as well. 

Cowart James and Vera were the children of Captain Joshua Sledge and Katie Cowart. Mary, Anna, and Emma were the daughters of Mary Anna Sledge and Thomas J. Martin II. John, Pierce, and Oliver were the sons of Charles Monroe Bryan and Alice Sledge. Captain Joshua, Mary Anna, and Alice were siblings.[2] Photos of the parents of these children are seen below. 

Note: Charles Monroe Bryan was the son of James Monroe Bryan. For years I have tried to connect James Monroe Bryan to my Reddick Bryan family and have been unsuccessful.[3] 

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. Sledge, Martin, and Bryan families, n.d.; scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

    2. YouDee20012001,"Marler Pate Corley McCoy Family Tree," private tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/973847/family/familyview? fpid=-626224692&fpid=-626224692&usePUBJs=true: accessed 13 January 2022). Also, mavidmar," M Burton Family Tree," public tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/35562118/family/familyview?cfpid=18826543110&dtid=100: accessed 13 January 2022).

    3. mavidmar," M Burton Family Tree," public tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/35562118/family/familyview?cfpid=18826543110&dtid=100: accessed 13 January 2022).