52 Ancestors-Week - 10 Roxie Anna Hughes (1876-1961)

This post is part of Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.  The object is to write something about 1 ancestor each week.  More information can be  found at her blog No Story Too Small.




Roxie Anna-date unknown

Roxie Anna Hughes (maternal great grandmother) was born about 1876 in Arkansas.  She married Charles J. Webb in 29 January 1893 in Gum Log, Pope County, Arkansas. She died in 19 December 1961.

They had 5 children:

     Othello M (Roberts)- 1894-1985

     Clyde Lee -1899-1987 (my grandfather)

     Tollie J.- 1901-1964

     Theron - 1903-1969

     Sybil (Reasoner)- 1907-1991



Roxie Anna with my grandfather Clyde Lee Webb

Roxie with my mother



Roxie in the 1940s

Visiting Happy Hollow amusement park in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Roxie-standing on left
Theron-tending bar
Unknown
Anne E. Reynolds-Theron's wife-far right
Sitting woman and child-unknown
 

52 Ancestors-Week 9- Dianacy "Dicy" Wallace (1830-1925)

Dianacy “Dicy” Wallace I believe is my paternal great great grandmother.  While there is some circumstantial evidence that points at a relationship between her and my great grandmother Celia E. Autrey, so far it has not been satisfactorily proven.

Dicy was born about 1830 in Mississippi.  On 3 October 1851 she married John Mabe Autrey in Union Parish where they resided until some time between 1870 and 1880.  After that they lived in the neighboring Parish of Lincoln.

John Mabe died some time between 1880 and 1903.  According to her Widows Pension application, he died on the first day of September 1903.  However according to the 1900 census for Hardin County, Texas, Dicy was already a widow and living with the family of one of her children, J. A. Autrey.

Widows Pension Application

The 1910 census has Dicy living by herself in Range, Texas County, Oklahoma and as far as I can tell there are no immediate family members living in the vicinity around that time. 

In 1920 she is in Beech, Miller County, Arkansas living with her daughter, Mary F. Tubbs and her husband Francis.  For some reason her name is listed as Mary Walace (sic). Sometime between 1920 and her death on 17 Sep 1925 the Tubbs along with Dicy moved to Waco, McLennan County, Texas.

Here death certificate has as the cause of death ‘senility’.  She is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, Texas.

Dicy WALLACE Autrey late in life
Possibly a post-mortem picture?

     There are several questions I have about Dicy and her later life:

1.   When and where did they live when John Mabe died? 
       (That 1890 census would really be nice to have for this case.)

2.   According to an un-credited source, The Descendants of Cornelius Autry, Immigrant of Edgecombe 
      North Carolina : Neil Culbreth of Sampson County, North Carolina, and Allied Familes, the Autrey's lived in
      Robertson County, Texas and owned a store.  So far I have not found any evidence for this.

3.   After John Mabe died, why did she move so often?  
      Possibly, and these are just guesses, she was making extended visits to her children and their families, or she      
      was already suffereing the effects of senility and was being shuffled around by family members.

4.   Is the picture of Dicy above a post-mortem photo?  Based on the rigid pose I lean towards a possible yes.

5.   Why in the 1920 census is she listed as Mary Walace?  Perhaps she is the one who spoke to the census taker and if she
      was suffering from senility maybe she got confused.
  

Sources: 

[1] "Louisiana, Marriages, 1816-1906," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4C2-Z5T : accessed 21 Apr 2013), John Autry and Dianacy Wallace, 03 Oct 1851.

[1] 1870 U. S. census, Union Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, p. 42 (written), dwelling 319, family 319, John Autry; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 April 2013); citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 534.

[1] 1880 U. S. census, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, pop. sch, p. 59 (written), dwell 488, fam. 501, John Autrey.

[1] Vivian Mayo Bundy, The Descendants of Cornelius Autry, Immigrant of Edgecombe County, North Carolina : Neil Culbreth of Sampson County, North Carolina, and Allied Familes (Charlotte, N.C. : Herb Eaton Historical Publications, 1996), 33.

52 Ancestors-Week 8 - Margaret "Sister Donata" McFadden

This post is part of Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.  The object is to write something about 1 ancestor each week.  More information can be  found at her blog No Story Too Small.

Margaret "Sister Donata" McFadden- She was the sister of my maternal grandmother.

Born: 18 August 1894-Roscoe PA
Died: 14 November 1953-Scranton Pennsylvania

She was a nun with the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton, Pennsylvania.


Sister Donata with two unknown people

She is listed on IHM deceased sisters page.  

Here is her Find A Grave   memorial page.

On back:
Mom,
This was taken just for you.
"Three Pittsburghers"
"Me" Aunt Kate Marie Dolora (Ann Legnard)
May 1940

Margaret is on the left.  Aunt Kate may be in the middle.  I don't know if she is an actual aunt or if it is a term on endearment.   Maria Dolora may be the "sister" name for Ann Legnard on the right.

I don't have a lot of information on Aunt Margaret yet.  I did contact her order and they did not have any additional information. 

My next step is to contact the diocese and then any local repositories that may have such records.

Update:  After posting this I went back through my emails and found this from the IHM.

"I know she was stationed in Poughkeepsie, NY for a time.
 

We had a fire at the Motherhouse in 1971 and unfortunately many records were destroyed."

 

So far, all the records I have found regarding Aunt Margaret had her living in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.  Hopefully, NY may have some records about her that survived.