Well, it has been awhile since I posted anything in the blog. Could be because I haven't had much time for my research lately. I've got so many brick walls now that I don't have a lot of enthusiasm for digging right now. I am trying to find new ways to motivate my search. Getting organized is key right now!

I do have one exciting bit of news on the White line. I recently connected with a woman who lives in McMinnville, TN. She is descended from Ruth White, daughter of Thomas White (see my earlier post about Thomas White). I now have a lot more information on Thomas' children. The biggest coincidence in this is that the woman I connected with, Kim, worked in the doctor's office that my Dad sees. What a small world! I'm always amazed at where I find new cousins. :)

My next goal is to complete a couple more newsletters. Stay tuned!

May was a busy month and I got a little sidetracked from my research. It's now getting late in June and I don't have anything new to add to my family history inventory. Well, I do have one thing, but it's brought about more questions than answers. I'm still working my Thompson line, but I took a sideroad and started working on the Troy/Murray ancestors on that side. They are a very frustrating group. They seem to hide on any census where I really need to find them.

My grandmother was a Thompson. Her mother was a Murray and her mother before her was a Troy. Patrick Troy was born in Ireland about 1818 and I know he was in America by 1847 when his son William M. Troy was born in Tennessee. Patrick should have shown up on the 1850 census, but I can't locate him anywhere. He's living in Grundy County in 1860 with his 2nd or 3rd wife (I'll get to that later) and 3 children: William M., James Patrick, and Mary. By 1870, he's dead and his 3rd (or 4th) wife, Dorcas, is listed as a widow and has all 3 children living with her. They are still in Grundy County at this point.

I found 3 marriage records for Patrick - one in Franklin County to Sarah Kale and two in Grundy County to Elizabeth Bennett and Dorcas McDaniel (both widows). I can't be 100% positive on the one to Sarah Kale, but he was the only Patrick Troy in Franklin County, so I'm assuming it's him. His first wife's name I found on the death certificate for his oldest son, William. I can read her first name (Brycie) and I know that William named his oldest daughter after his mother, Alma Brycie Troy. Her last name is partially blotted out by a water stain. Ugh! All that to get nowhere.

1. Patrick Troy marries Brycie ? about 1846 - they have 2 sons:
William M. Troy born 25 Dec 1847 (married Martha Weaver Stricklen)
James Patrick Troy born 1849 (married Mary A. Brimer)

2. Patrick Troy marries Sarah Kale 3 Feb 1854 in Franklin Co - no known children.

3. Patrick Troy marries Elizabeth Bennett 13 Oct 1859 in Grundy Co - 1 known daughter: Mary Troy born 1861

4. Patrick Troy marries Dorcas McDaniel 26 Oct 1863 in Grundy Co - no known children and Patrick dies sometime between 1863 and 1870.

So, I've hit another brick wall. I still don't know the full name of the first wife and I'm no closer to learning where in Ireland Patrick came from. If anyone is looking for any last minute gift ideas for me, I'll take a Brick Wall Buster please! :)

I started out the month of April by working on these Thompsons again. I didn't have much luck, but I will keep digging. The exciting news is that I found new cousins on the White side!

After a little sleuthing on the part of Mike White and myself, we have come to the conclusion that he is also descended from Arch White and Mary McKinney. Mike's grandfather was Archie White, son of Frank White. Frank was the son of Thomas White and Henrietta Farmer. For those of you who can follow this, Frank was a cousin of Oscar White and Luther White.

Thomas was the fifth child born to Arch and Mary White. He was one of only 4 sons born to them. William was the oldest, next was Thomas, then Andrew and finally John. I'm still looking for William and his family. Thomas we know died fairly young in his early 40's sometime around 1907-1908. The story passed down was that he went out squirrel hunting one day and didn't come back. They found him in the woods dead from a gunshot wound. It is assumed he committed suicide. If anyone has any further information on Thomas, I'd love to hear more. Andrew died as a child, sometime before 1880. At most he would have been 10 years old. Grandpa John lived a full life and had many children who have carried the White name into the new millenium. He died in 1941 by an accidental fall from a wagon load of hay.

I'm working on the children of Thomas White and hope to have more information on them before long. In 1910, the census shows that Henrietta (Farmer) White was widowed and the mother of 11 children. Eight of those children were still living:

1. Pleasant (Plez) White - born March 1888: last found in Marion County, Tennessee in 1910 with his mother Henrietta and baby sister, Letha. It is assumed he died before 1966 (not listed on obituary of brother Arch).

2. Mary White - born August 1890: last found in 1900 in Marion County, Tennessee with her parents and siblings. I don't know when she died or if she married. Also assuming she died before 1966 (not listed on obituary of brother Arch).

3. Franklin "Frank" White - born March 11, 1895 in Sewanee, Tennessee: we now know a bit more about Frank. He was married, drafted in WWI, and divorced all by 1918. After the war, he moved to Alabama, married Ida Nix and had children there. He died on November 11, 1951 in Leighton, Alabama.

4. Fannie White - born June 1897: last found on the 1910 census in Franklin County, Tennessee in the household of William and Eva Rollins. I don't know when she died or if she married. Also assuming she died before 1966 (not listed on obituary of brother Arch).

5. Arch White - born January 9, 1900: Arch remained in Marion County. He was married to Mollie Sitz on July 3, 1924 in Grundy County. They had 8 children, four boys and four girls. Mollie was the daughter of William and Clara Sitz and her sister, Anna Lee later married Uncle Andrew (James Andrew White, son of John B. White and Caroline Havner). Arch died December 11, 1966 in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. His obituary states that he had 2 sisters still living: Mrs. Ruth Frazier of McMinnville, Tennessee and Mrs. Letha Hardy of Columbus, Ohio.

6. Lucy White - born 1903: last found on the 1910 census in Franklin County, Tennessee in the household of William and Ellie Ladd. I don't know when she if she ever married. Also assuming she died before 1966 (not listed on obituary of brother Arch).

7. Letha White - born April 5, 1906: last found on the 1920 census in Marion County, Tennessee as a servant in the household of Thornton Martin. In 1966 on the obituary for her brother Arch, she was married (Letha Hardy) and living in Columbus, Ohio. Also assuming she died after 1966 since she was listed on obituary as surviving her brother Arch.

8. Ruth White - born 1908: last found on the 1910 census in Franklin County, Tennessee in the household of widower James W. Clark. In 1966 on the obituary for her brother Arch, she was married (Ruth Frazier) and living in McMinnville, Tennessee. I found her death record showing she died February 5, 1990. It stated her name was Ruth Frazier, that she was a resident of Warren County, Tennessee, and was divorced at the time of her death.

I'll keep you updated on my progress on Thomas White's children. I'm glad Mike and I were able to connect Frank to ours after all. It's always exciting to find new cousins! Happy Spring everyone :)

I've spent the past 2 days working on our Thompson orphans again. I'm making some progress, but very slowly. I wish this was as easy as they made it look on Who Do You Think You Are? :)

I feel fairly certain that Samuel F. Thompson was descended from William Thompson and Stephen Thompson. I found Stephen's Revolutionary War pension file on Footnote.com. Amazing to see a letter with Stephen's signature written to then President Andrew Jackson! I discovered that Stephen's brother, Samuel, had moved on to Texas and became an Alcalde there. There is a memorial to the Thompson family in Chapel Hill Cemetery in San Augustine County.

Stephen was collecting a pension, but it was stopped. Four men in Marion County stated that he wasn't old enough to collect a pension. In hindsight, this seems to be a great injustice. His younger brother Samuel had served in the Revolution and collected a pension. His brother Burwell collected his pension and his mother was even able to collect a pension for his deceased father, George. George was killed at the Battle of Kings' Mountain. Stephen says in his letter to President Jackson, "through envy and malice...[my] pension is now stopped by men who neither have love of country nor love of truth who want my little home and know I would have to sell it if my pension was stopped."

Stephen mentions many names of men who can vouch for his character and honesty. I am still researching all of them and hope to get a better picture of his migration. I know that he was born in North Carolina. He moved with his family into Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was in Kentucky from 1800 until at least 1812, when he appears on the Franklin County tax lists. In the early Kentucky records, five of the brothers can be found in Warren County, Kentucky: William, Burwell, Stephen, Samuel and Balaam. I haven't found him anywhere in 1820 yet, but by 1830, he's in Marion County. I think he died before 1840, but I'm still researching that as well. The last correspondence in his pension file was dated 1837.

I found William Thompson in Franklin County in 1840 with his wife and 2 young sons. He was living very near William Roark, Campbell Henley and William Henley. This means he didn't move into Marion County until after 1840 and he died before 1850. We know that William Roark was the father of Rutha Roark who married William Henley. Campbell Henley married Malinda Thompson, the daughter of Burwell Thompson. I'll be posting more information on the orphans later.

I'm still trying to sort all this out and also trying to locate whatever proof I can find. It has been a long journey, but hopefully one that will have a conclusion someday.