Mary Creekmore Elliott (1918-1985) and the missing marriage record

 

Picture was taken approximately 1925 at the Wilcott Farm on Pudding Ridge Road.  The young boy with the goat is Thomas Edward Creekmore, Jr.  His father, Thomas Sr., farmed for the Wilcott's. The young girl in the picture is his sister, Mary Creekmore Elliott, who was born  around 1917.  The older woman in the cart and the man standing beside the gate are unidentified.

Sarah (Creekmore) Bell and her younger sister, Mary (Creekmore) Elliott.  Mary married Millard Elliott of Fort Worth Texas.  Mary is buried in Moyock Cemetery.  Her husband was a descendent of Sam Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas.

 Photos from: http://www.ncgenweb.us/currituck/photosbios/creekmorephotoalbum.html

Mary Creekmore was born in Currituck County, North Carolina in 8 Feb 1918[1] to Thomas E. Creekmore and Edna E. Powell. In 1920[2] and 1930[3] she is living with her parents in Moyock, Currituck County, North Carolina. 

In 1940[4] she is 22 and still in the household of her parents. According to the census they were enumerated on 2 May 1940 and she was listed as single.

Meanwhile Millard is living in Fort Worth, Texas[5] in 1940 according to census. He and his family were enumerated on 8 April 1940 and his status is listed as being married. 

19 August 1940 he enlisted in the Army[6] in Fort Worth, Texas.  His marital status here is single without dependents. He was released from the service on 12 July 1945[7]. For now I am proceeding as if the 1940 US Census taker made the error. 

Both appear to vanish from the historical record until they pop up in Fort Worth, Texas living in the household of his parents, Millard Alexander Sr. and Ethyl Elliott[8].

I have browsed the marriage indexes for Currituck County, North Carolina and Tarrant County, Texas and have not found Millard or Mary or any similar names listed between 1945-1949. I imagine that he was stationed in or relocated to North Carolina after his service and that is where they met but that is just a wild guess at this point.

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[1] Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Birth Indexes, 1800-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. The child is not named. The father is listed as Thomas Creekmore.

[2] Year: 1920; Census Place: Moyock, Currituck, North Carolina; Roll: T625_1294; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 66.

[3] Year: 1930; Census Place: Moyock, Currituck, North Carolina; Roll: 1684; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0004; FHL microfilm: 2341418.

[4] Year: 1940; Census Place: Moyock, Currituck, North Carolina; Roll: T627_2897; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 27-6.

[5] Year: 1940; Census Place: Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas; Roll: T627_4187; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 257-109.

[6]  National Archives and Records Administration. Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database]; ARC: 1263923. World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.

[7] Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

[8] Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This index does not include the year of this information.

Hampton N. Webb (1813-?) Southern Claims Commission partial transcription

I recently found the Southern Claims Commission record on the brother of my gr gr gr grandfather George Washington Webb (1806-1862). During the build up and throughout the Civil War he lived in Pope and Crawford Counties, Arkansas. According to the testimony of Hampton and the witnesses he remained a supporter of the Union.

The claim was filed in 1871 for Hampton to be reimbursed for two horses that the Union troops confiscated for the war effort in 1863.

Some of the report is difficult to read so I am in the process of transcribing it. One section caught my eye as particularly interesting. It is in the testimony of Hampton's son in law George D. Kirkpatrick (1813-1901).

 

The called State Convention is (unknown) The States going

out of The Union, and after the (unknown) of Secession

was passed we did not go with the (unknown) but stuck to our

Union principles and continued to maintain them

during the whole war. In These conditions claimant

always expressed his determination to hold on (unknown) the Union.

That Slavery and fire eaters of the South caused The war, and

That The South had no grounds to justify this in trying to

Brake (sic) up the The Union. I cannot remember all he Said

About it. He Never (unknown) The (unknown) of Secession or Rebel cause. was

Violent in his opposition to it. I knew the Sympathies and

opinions of Claimant by what he Said to me about The

Union Cause, and his opposition to the Rebel cause.

 

Testimony of George G. Kirkpatrick. 1874; George D. Kirkpatrick (Crawford County, Arkansas), #12458; Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor; Record of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Joseph Henry Sample-probate record 1910

I have been doing some probate research on several line and found the Letters of Administration for my great grandfather. He died intestate and his son John was named administrator.

I contacted Howard County Arkansas hoping that there would be some paperwork regarding his probate. Unfortunately they were unable to find anything.

Another dead end. This family is really making it difficult to find out anything about them!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Ancestry.com. Arkansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1818-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

BU program

I am considering taking the Boston University Certification Program. I have for a while thought about becoming certified but have not made a lot of progress on it.

A few years ago I took the NGS Home Study Course and the ProGen study group. Both were very helpful and informative but I still feel there is a heckuva lot I don't know. Also because this program sounds quite intensive and pricey I am hoping it re-motivates me to to get back and complete the BCG certification process.

Early 1900s house soon to be demolished

As a Commissioner on the county historical commission (and yes, right now I do wish my last name was Gordon) one of my committees is to document historical structures that are in danger.

It was probably built in the early 1900s, maybe even earlier.

 

This is the back of the house that leads to the kitchen.

  

Here is a peak into the doorway. While it looks like a sneeze might make it collapse, it still seems quite sturdy. 

  

It was definitely built before plumbing. The new addition on the bottom right was for an indoor bathroom on what was part of the porch. It is also the section that is the most dilapidated. 

 

The opposite side of the house.

 

The front of the house. You probably could get on the porch, but I don't think you would want to. On the plus side, it's doubtful anyone will rush out of the house wielding a chainsaw.  

With the widening of highway 36 scheduled to begin in early summer (2017) this is one of the buildings scheduled to be demolished. Not sure if this house could be rehabilitated, but it is sad such an interesting and historical home be torn down just to be replaced with more concrete.