Abb Dulaney

This ad appeared in the Itawamba County News on January 10, 1946, but I don't know which Abb Dulaney the advertisement refers to.  Abb (or Ab) was a nickname for several Itawamba Dulaney men.  Alfred Elias "Ab" Dulaney was born in 1856 in Itawamba County, but he moved to Arkansas with his father when he was fourteen years old.   Alfred Elias was named for his grandfather, Alfred Dulaney, who was one of three Dulaney brothers who came to Itawamba County in the 1830s.    Another grandson of Alfred, Alfred G. Dulaney, was also known as "Ab" but he died in 1934 so I doubt the 1946 newspaper ad refers to his home.     Yet another grandson was named Joe Abb Dulaney, and it is most likely this "Abb" that the newspaper references.  Joe Abb Dulaney was the son of Joseph "Joe" Dulaney and Martha Ann Johnson.  He married Vonnie Senter, daughter of Thomas Alfred Senter and Rebecca Woodard.

Martin Pennington death notice from 1893

1870 Census - Martin Pennington

Recently, I posted about Veneta McKinney's newspaper transcriptions at the Lamar County Genealogy Trails website hosted by Veneta.  

Here is another little jewel that I found among her transcriptions of the Vernon Courier newspaper from 1893.

Vernon Courier, June 8, 1893

AN OCTOGENARIAN - MARTIN PENNINGTON died on May the 27 at his home four miles from Vernon in his 81st year.   He was married in 1839 to MARTHA TACKET, and they lived for 56 years on the old homestead where he died. His wife survives him. Seventeen children blessed their union, thirteen of whom are living. He left 79 grand-children and 10 great-grand-children.  He was a member of the Baptist Church for a number of years, and was a good and useful citizen. His remains were laid to rest in Friendship burying ground on the 28th of May, in presence of a large number of relatives and friends.

Martin was the brother of my great-great-great grandfather Henry Pennington -- both were sons of William Pennington and Elizabeth Surratt (sometimes found Sarratt), and brothers to Aaron and Samuel.

There is a bit of mystery surrounding William and Elizabeth.   

Five Pennington brothers migrated to then-Fayette County, Alabama from South Carolina, the oldest brother being Benjamin who came to Alabama before 1830 and set up one of the first grist mills in the county.   Records indicate a voting precinct was set up at Benjamin Pennington's house as early as 1828.    Migrating about the same time as Benjamin were William's sons by his marriage to Elizabeth Surratt:  Samuel, Aaron, Henry, and Martin.   There is a household in the 1830 census of Fayette County, Alabama, for Samuel Pennington that appears to contain his brothers, his mother Elizabeth, and possibly his grandfather William Surratt.   This early census only lists the head of the household along with the ages of the other members of the household so we cannot be certain of exactly who was living with Samuel - we can only surmise.   

But where was father William if his sons and their mother were in Alabama?  Apparently still in South Carolina with another woman, likely Isabella/Isabelle who is listed as his wife (?) in later census records in Alabama.  Did William divorce Elizabeth?  Leave her?   It appears so.  The earlier, 1820 census, back in Spartanburg District, South Carolina, includes a household for an Elizabeth Pennington enumerated next door to William Surratt.  Elizabeth's household included a young male and female, both age 10-16.    Where was William Pennington?  He was enumerated as living next to his brothers Benjamin, Isaac and Jesse, but there are additional members in his household that cannot be named.  Certainly, his household members included more than just the four sons that we would expect to find.  We know from subsequent census records that he had children born in South Carolina before 1830, likely from the second wife.

We do not know what happened to Elizabeth Surratt Pennington.  She may have remarried. Her supposed-father William Surratt lived to be at least 83 years old because he can be found living with his son, Samuel, in the 1850 census for Fayette County, Alabama. 

Big Daddy's House

My brother, Kirk, does amazing things with his hands.  This past spring, he created a replica - shown above - of the house affectionately called Big Daddy's.  Built in 1944-45 to replace an older, pioneer structure, it was the home of Hugh and Dee Sloan Pennington in their later years although Dee died in September 1945 and did not get to enjoy her new home very long.  The old homeplace was part of the Jackson Sloan estate, and when the land was divided following Jack's death, Dee Sloan Pennington "drew" her lot, getting the original dogtrot house and surrounding acreage.  Unfortunately, termite damage to the roof and foundation resulted in taking down the 1945 home a few years ago but the chimney still remains to remind future generations of the heritage of the place.

Below is a photograph of Big Daddy's house as it looked during the 1980's.   My husband and I lived in the house during the summers of 1976 and 1977, back when the "bathroom facilities" consisted of an outhouse along with an outdoor shower stall consisting of a water hose from the kitchen sink and a metal bucket punched with holes.  Luckily, we had a window air conditioning unit to keep us cool from the record-breaking heat those summers.

Didn't Kirk do a great job replicating the house, down to the windows, shutters, porch and steps!?!   Lots of good memories were created here - Sunday dinners in the early days followed by a long period of non-use after Big Daddy died.  Later, the homeplace was the site of Easter egg hunts and New Year's Eve celebrations and many, many rook games. The bottom photo is of Aunt Vivian sitting on the front porch steps during the early 1950's, probably at a Sunday get-together.

James G. Young, 1819-1893

Veneta Aldridge McKinney, over at Lamar County Alabama Genealogy Trails, is doing a wonderful service in transcribing and publishing old newspapers of Lamar County.   After transcribing, Veneta also e-mails a summary of the deaths and marriages found in the old newspapers to the Lamar County Rootsweb message board.  As anyone who has ever transcribed old records from microfilm knows, it is a tedious process.  Amazingly, Veneta has done this for the old Marion County  and Fayette County newspapers as well.   If you have any ancestors in any of these counties, it would be worth your while to check out the work that Veneta has done at these linked websites.   Veneta is also the volunteer webmaster for the Genealogy Trails websites for Winston and Walker Counties.

Recently, one of Veneta's e-mails to the Lamar County Rootsweb message board included deaths and marriages abstracted from the 1893 Vernon Courier newspaper.  These accounts are not only informative (great information for the genealogist) but entertaining as well.  Apparently there were quite a number of marriages where the bride had to slip around her parents to get married, including one young woman who "ran away" on the train to get married in Mississippi.

The Vernon Courier reported the death of James G. Young in its February 9, 1893 issue.

VERNON COURIER
Feb. 9, 1893

Mr. JAMES G. YOUNG, a well-known citizen of Pine Springs beat departed this life last week.  Mr. YOUNG had long been a citizen of the county and his death will be keenly felt by a host of friends. 

James was the uncle of my great-great grandmother Rachel Young Loyd (brother to William A. Young).  His tombstone is pictured above, photographed just this past spring when Karol Squier, another Young descendant, and I visited Wesley Chapel Cemetery in northwestern Lamar County.  James was born February 22, 1819 and died January 30, 1893.  He was the son of James A. and Mary "Polly" Green.  Some researchers indicate that his full name was James Green Young, but I've also seen Gilbert as his middle name. 

This Young family was originally from Abbeville District, South Carolina but in 1810 are found in Warren County, Kentucky where Rachel's father, William A. Young, was born.    The family made their way southward - by 1830 they are found in Marion County, Alabama (later part of Lamar County) although later records show some of them (including my line) moved just over the line into Monroe County, Mississippi.    In fact, Wesley Chapel Cemetery is close to the Mississippi line and contains the graves of many Young relatives.

Thanks, Veneta, for all that you do!

A New Cousin

Tonight, over supper, I "discovered" a new cousin, one that I'm delighted to learn about, especially on the eve of the annual Sloan Family Reunion in the Peaceful Valley community of Itawamba County.

My great-grandmother, Dee Sloan Pennington, was the daughter of Jackson Samuel Sloan and Malissa Caroline Potts.  My "new" cousin is descended from Jackson's sister, Mary Sloan, and Malissa's brother, George W. Potts.  A double cousin from both the Potts and Sloan families!

Who is this special cousin?  Dorothy Carol Moore Dulaney, my husband's Aunt Dorothy who is married to Uncle Frank Dulaney.  Aunt Dot's mother was Allie Mae Dodson, granddaughter of George W. Potts and Mary Sloan.    Uncle Frank is visiting us this weekend while Dorothy is staying with her sister, and when Frank found out about the Sloan Reunion tomorrow he wondered if this was the same family of Sloans that Dorothy was kin to.... and it is!   Can't wait to talk to Dorothy about our common Itawamba Connections.

Unidentified "cousins" from a photograph provided at the 2010 Sloan Reunion

Martha Eudoxie Davis Raburn

Martha Eudoxie Davis Raburn, standing right in the photograph, was the daughter of Jesse Davis and Elvira Amanda McGee .  Born on July 5, 1854 in Gwinnett County, Georgia, she moved with her family while still a toddler to St. Clair County, Alabama around 1858.  By 1870, the Davis family were in Itawamba County where they are found enumerated in the census for that year.  Eudoxie's mother and two of her sisters died in Alabama, and her father remarried, to a widow by the name of Mary Johnson Caldwell before moving his family to the Providence Church area on the Mississippi-Alabama state line.

Eudoxie and my great-great grandfather, James William Anderson Davis, were siblings.

In 1873, Eudoxie married William Greenberry Raburn, a Civil War veteran who enlisted and served in the 41st Mississippi Regiment in Itawamba County.  The youngest of their ten children, Susie, is pictured with Eudoxie in the photograph to the left.  Susie was born just days after the death of her father, who died November 9, 1894.  Her full name was William Suzannie Raburn.

During Greenberry's stint in the Civil War, he was captured by Union soldiers and sent to Colorado as part of the Union Army after signing a Loyalty Oath.  During the cold winter, as the troops were marching in harsh conditions, Greenberry's feet became frostbitten and had to be amputated.   He returned to Itawamba County following the war and even served as tax assessor before dying in 1894.  Following his death, Eudoxie received a widow's pension from the federal government for Greenberry's service during the War.

Eudoxie Davis Raburn purchased the house now known as Bonds House, home to Itawamba County Historical Society in Mantachie, from the Sims family in the early 1900s.   The house was built around 1892 by Mantachie merchant  and mayor, James Andrew Bonds.  When Eudoxie died in 1920, the house was later sold by her heirs.

The following account was published in a 1931 newspaper - quite interesting!  I wonder what happened to the seedling that came up from the cockle burr?

Fulton News Beacon
July 16, 1931

Waited 37 Years

Some of our readers will no doubt remember Mr. Green Raburn, who served this county one term as tax assessor.  He had no feet on account of getting them frozen off during the Civil War.  He wore specially prepared shoes and appeared to be a very low man.

Rev. Sumpter Raburn, his son, recently found a cockle burr in a crevice of his father's shoe which had been there for 37 years, and which he planted and it came up and is producing after its kind, after lying dormant that long.