Sunday's Obituary - Verna A. Merritt Smith

Verna A. Merritt

Verna Anna Merritt Smith 17 Jan 1889 - 29 Mar 1972

My Great-Grandmother, Verna Anna Merritt Smith was born in Wilson County, TN 17 Jan 1889 to Obidiah J. and Florence (Sewell) Merritt.    The family moved to Jefferson County, Illinois around 1900.  Verna was the second of six children and her mother Florence died when Verna was just thirteen years old.  From all accounts, times were hard for the Merritts after their mother died.  In 1909, Verna married Robert Calvin Smith and they had eight children, one of those being my grandfather, Diamond Milton Smith.  They raised their children in Mt. Vernon, Illinois where great-grandpa Bob was an auto mechanic.

Verna A. Merritt Smith

Great-grandma Verna was quite a character and had a wicked sense of humor.  She was full of gumption right up until the end.  I like to think she got this from her grandmother, Amanda J. Martin.  Verna's husband Bob Smith died in October 1958, Verna 29 Mar 1972 in Fort Lauderdale, FL where they had lived for a number of years.  The following obituary is from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

Matrilineal Monday - Amanda J. Martin Sewell McGuire Clifton

AMANDA JANE MARTIN SEWELL McGUIRE CLIFTON

BIOGRAPHY

I think every genealogist has one or two “pet” or favorite ancestors.  One of my favorites is my 3x great-grandmother, Amanda Jane Martin.  She has fascinated me for nearly twenty years and my obsession has followed her back and forth through four states and three husbands in an attempt to solve all the mysteries of her life.  When I first started putting this biography on paper several months ago, I wrote how it pained me that I had no pictures of her, but how I could almost picture her in my mind.  Well, in the last month, to my great delight, I have had a distant cousin, Mike Clemmons who writes Clemmons Family History,  come forth with pictures of our shared ancestor and the pictures are very close to what I had imaged.  They are not close ups, but I am so very grateful to have them.  This biography is in no way complete, and continues to be a work in progress.

Amanda J. Martin Sewell McGuire Clifton 

 Amanda was born in December of 1845 in Tennessee, most likely DeKalb County (3) to William Nelson and Nancy (Scott) Martin.   Family history has it that Nancy Scott is related to the Scotts that came to Jefferson County, IL in the 1830’s, Daniel Scott, wife Sarah and children Martha and Joseph McDonald, but I have yet to make the connection.  The 1850 DeKalb County census records show Amanda age four living in Alexandria with parents William N. and Nancy Martin as well as a sister Mary E. age 1.  Her father William was a wagon maker.

On 18 Oct 1860 at the age 14 Amanda married Daniel William Sewell son of Daniel M. and Falby (Capshaw) Sewell.  According to an interview between Carol Smith and Amanda’s grandson Dewey Merritt, Dewey related Amanda discussing the early days of her marriage.  She laughingly told this story about her naiveté and innocence as a bride.  “The first day Will (this is what she called her husband) went into the fields to work I got out my dolls.  At noon, Will came home for lunch and I had seven dolls on the living room floor.  I didn’t know that I was supposed to fix lunch.”

Sadly this youthful marriage was not to have a happy ending.  On 5 Nov, 1861, just a little more than a year after their marriage, their only child, Florence Jane Sewell was born.  Just six months later on 31 May 1862, Daniel was killed at the age twenty-three in the Civil War at 7 Pines – Fair Oaks, Virginia.

I don’t know where Amanda went to live for the next few years, most likely with her parents, but on 25 Dec 1865 in Wilson County, Tennessee she married William Henry McGuire.  By 1870, William Henry and Amanda are living in Piney Fork, Sharp County, Arkansas.  According to the 1870 census for this county, H.W. age 22 and Amanda age 23 are living with daughter Jane McGuire (this is actually Florence Jane Sewell) age 8, daughter Mattie, age 3 and son Daniel age 9 months.

Unfortunately, Amanda’s luck with husbands was to run out again and William Henry McGuire died sometime between 1875 and 1880.  Amanda and her children returned to Wilson County, Tennessee and are found in the 1880 census.  A. J. McGuire, widow, age 34 and daughter M. H. (Mary Henrietta) McGuire, age 4 are found living with the W. N. Steed family and Amanda is working as a cook.  Also in the same census living with her parents W.N. and Nancy Martin are D.W. Guire (Daniel)(grandson) age 10 and N. L. McGuire (Nancy Lucinda) (granddaughter) age 8.  Mattie McGuire born 1867 was not found which leads me to think this child has died.  Daughter Florence, is found also in Wilson County living with the D. W. Baird family working as a cook as well.  This family is neighbors of grandparents William and Nancy Martin, the Steed family, the Merritt family, the Clemmons family and the Clifton family. 

Her oldest daughter Florence married Obidiah Merritt in 1882.  On 28 Apr 1885 also in Wilson County Amanda again remarried to Jesse Clifton.  Daughter Nancy Lucinda married William K. Clemmons in 1886.  This Clemmons family connection is important as this is where the distant cousin comes in who supplied me with the pictures of Amanda.  Around 1900 the Jesse and Amanda Clifton family and Obidiah and Florence Merritt family moved from Wilson County, Tennessee to Jefferson County, Illinois. 

Jesse & Amanda Clifton Family Mt. Vernon, IL ca 1900

The Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County census shows Jesse Clifton age 57 and wife Amanda age 53 with son W. B. age 19, son Samuel age 17 and son Jesse age 14.  Although some family history notes that Amanda had a son named Sam, sons W. B. and Samuel are from Jesse Clifton’s first marriage to Martha J. Shorten.  Son Jesse is actually a daughter Jessie G. born 10 Feb 1886 who later marries Walter Newton Shelton. 

The 1900 census states that Amanda is the mother of six children with five living.  This would make sense if her children were Florence Sewell, Mattie McGuire, Nancy McGuire, Daniel McGuire, Mary McGuire and Jessie Clifton as it appears Mattie McGuire died before 1880.  However, the same census states that Amanda and Jesse have been married for 31 years which is not true as they were married in 1885 which would be 15 years.

Jesse & Amanda Clifton Mt. Vernon, IL ca 1900

In 1910, we again find Jesse and Amanda in the Jefferson County, Il census as Jesse Clifton age 67, Amanda J. Clifton age 64 and with William B. Patterson orphan age 10.  Daughter Florence J. Sewell Merritt died in 1902 leaving husband Obidiah and six children, Novella, Verna, Amanda Louranne, Claude, Alva and George Dewey.

By 1920, Amanda is once again widowed.  Date and place are unknown for husband Jesse’s death although it is suspected to be in Jefferson County, IL.  Amanda is found in the 1920 census living in West, New Madrid, Missouri with daughter Nancy Lucinda “Lula” McGuire Clemmons and husband William.  She is listed as Mandy Clifton age 74.

After much searching, I finally found Amanda’s final resting place in Friendship Cemetery, Annieville, Lawrence County, Arkansas.  The date on her stone is 1927 which I used to order a death certificate from Arkansas, but I was greatly disappointed when no death record was found.  I did have someone take a picture of the stone for me which I was grateful to get. 

Amanda J. Clifton, Friendship Cemetery, Annieville, AK

 I obviously never knew Amanda, but I feel a deep connection to her on many levels.   She was a woman with a lot of resilience and spirit, and I suspect she was quite a character.  According to a conversation Carol Smith had with Amanda’s grandson Dewey Merritt, she did not like living in Arkansas but couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.  In his recollections he also stated that she liked to dance.  He recounted a story about her car, a Dodge with a cloth top and Bob, a relative, racing with a Ford on a rock road in Arkansas.  She enjoyed the race and shouted “Don’t let him pass us!”  She was probably in her late 60’s at the time.  Her life was a hard one, but she never let it get her down and she kept her sense of humor.   I can only hope that I have inherited a tiny bit of this grit.

Ancestor Approved

 As is usual these days, I am running way behind, but I was pleased as punch when in December Shelley from A Sense of Family gave me the “Ancestor Approved Award.” The award was started by Leslie Ann of Ancestors Live Here in March 2010.  Thank you Shelley for your recognition of my fledgling blog!

Recipients are asked to make a list of ten things they have learned about their ancestors that have humbled, surprised, or enlightened them. Then they are to pass on the award to ten other bloggers who are doing their ancestors proud.

It's kind of hard to know where to start because it seems like everything I learn about my ancestors surprises me.  Just when you think you know what to expect they knock you for a loop!  And I think it goes without saying that the lives our ancestors led are very humbling to us all.

Where to start, what to say!  Well here goes:

1.  When I first started researching back around 1994 I expected to discover that my ancestors immigrated to the United States within the last one hundred years or so.  Imagine my surprise to find most of them had been here much longer than that, in fact, many coming here in the 1700's and some in the 1600's.  I only found one ancestor, who emigrated for certain in the 1800’s from Germany, my 2x great grandfather Sarillas Lofink Neibel.

2.  It was humbling to me to realize that my ancestors were flesh and blood people with real lives, problems, loves and hardships.   Somehow I had this cartoon picture in my head, perhaps from watching old movies where the people looked and acted silly.  This truly has been one of the most mind-boggling things to wrap my head around.  These people really existed and because of them, I am here.

3.  When I first started genealogy in 1994 I was more concerned with how many names I could put on my chart and how far back I could go.  Now I care more about what I can learn about the lives of the people I discover.  I am obsessed in learning who they were, how they lived, what they thought, what they experienced.  This sea change in my thinking has been truly humbling and enlightening.

4.  I know that some people start their genealogy research hoping to find some famous and rich ancestors.  Even though I have a couple of very "minor" celebrities, I find I am more proud of the everyday, working people in my family.  I come from a long line of farmers, coal miners, mechanics, plumbers and laborers.  These are the people whose hard work made America great and they truly humble me.

5.  I was amazed and awed to learn that I had ancestors on several lines that fought in the Civil War.  Some survived, some did not.  My 3X great-grandfather, Daniel W. Sewell came from a family of five brothers.  He and one brother fought for the South; their other three brothers fought for the North.  I can't imagine a more difficult situation than fighting a war knowing that you might end up facing your own brother on the battlefield!  Unfortunately, Grandpa Daniel died in battle at the age of 23 before ever seeing his first child.

6.  The wife of Daniel W. Sewell, Amanda J. Martin married two more times, had six more children and outlived all three husbands.  Somehow she managed to persevere and keep on going.  By all accounts she was a real "pistol" who really enjoyed life.  This is humbling.  I don’t know if I would have that much gumption.

7.  I was equally amazed and surprised to learn that I had several ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War, one of those being my 5X great-grandfather Samuel Thompson Clemmons.  How wonderful to know that my family was part of the undertaking to secure our independence and create the wonderful country that I have been privileged to live in.

8.  I was shocked by the number of ancestors who were divorced.  Somehow I always assumed people "back then" didn't get divorced.  Well I'm here to tell you that yes they did!  Besides two sets of great-grandparents that I know of, it was always assumed that my great-great grandfather David J. Wilson's parents probably died sometime before 1850.  However, records now show they divorced and his mother remarried.  He went to live with his grandmother as a small boy and lived with her until adulthood.

9.  When I first began researching in the early 1990's I was very surprised to learn my great-grandfather Fred Ulysses Neibel first married Martha Ann Hunter in 1891 and they had one son Andrew Jackson in 1893.  Martha Ann died just one year later and Fred married Martha's sister, my great-grandmother in 1898.  They had twelve children, one of which was my grandmother, Alpha Laura Neibel Wilson.

10.  And finally, I am always surprised to find that I can still be surprised.  Just when you think you seen and heard it all, you haven’t!  There is always some new and exciting discovery that knocks your socks off!

Stay tuned for my list of ten deserving bloggers to pass the award on to. 

Thankful Thursday – Found Relatives – Old and New!!

What an exciting week for me genealogy wise, all because of Facebook.  I have met or reconnected with a number of relatives through Facebook and as a result have found pictures of grandparents and other relatives that I have never seen before.  It always makes my day, but none so much as what I learned on Sunday.  I added a new Facebook friend, a Merritt relative I had never even heard of, that lives in my home town of Mt. Vernon, IL.  We have mutual ancestors, my great-great grandparents, Obidiah and Florence (Sewell) Merritt – his great-grandparents.

I always wondered why there were no pictures of Obidiah and Florence.  They were not well off, farmers who worked the land to support their six children.  I’m sure there was not much money for things like pictures, but even so I always wondered if there weren’t at least one or two pictures of them out there somewhere.  Well, my new Facebook friend (my Merritt relative) posted these formal portrait pictures of Obidiah and Florence on Facebook and I almost fell off my chair!  Halleluiah!  The pictures had been hanging for many years in his father, Dewey Merritt’s house until he died.

 

I will talk more about Obidiah and Florence in a later post, but for now I am thrilled and thankful for my new Facebook friends and relatives, that we can share stories, and to finally have these pictures.

Obidiah J. Merritt 1851 - 1914

Florence Jane Sewell Merritt 1861 - 1902