Wordless Wednesday

Some of my first cousins visiting with Aunt Lucille.

Do the hairstyles and attire tell you what time period it was?

From the personal collection of L. Hosch Evans.

Tombstone Tuesday

Grand Uncle Willie Hosch (granddad's brother)

and

Grand Aunt Maudie Johnson Hosch

This picture is part of the personal collection of the owner of this blog.

Madness Monday - Grandpa Jasper and Grandma Jane Pierce (Part V)

Continuing the Hunt

A Possible Cousin Plus Another Lead?

I hope my readers didn’t think I had forgotten about my blogs, but June has been one of those months for me.

I started out the month with a sinus infection that began settling in during the Memorial Day weekend. I also learned about a few other health issues I have. (It was one of those doctor’s visits that became I know you didn’t come in here for this but we’ve been trying to get in touch with you to discuss the results of the blood work from your physical.)

The second week of June, Mom and I took a much-needed vacation, cruise, with our almost Martin cousins (we have a set of cousins in common). Yes, I was still dealing with the sinus infection, plus pricking my finger 4 times a day, but it was nice to get away and mom and I made some new friends in the process. We also discovered that “cousin” Louise and “cousin” Sarah know some of our Cousins who are from Walton County, GA.

The R&R from the vacation was short lived. While we were gone, daddy was admitted to the hospital. In addition, the week after our vacation, one of my first cousins, maternal side, lost her battle with cancer.

This past week, things slowly started returning to some semblance of normalcy. Daddy is out of the hospital, although the symptoms that sent him there have not abated. And, while I still haven’t fully caught up on everything, I’m slowly getting back on the Genealogy, which leads me to the upside of this post.

Before going on vacation, I noted that I still had not written Second Baptist Church in White Plains, GA in order to try to see if there was a possibility they had any information on my 2nd Great Grandparents, Jasper and Jane Pierce. Well, I wrote Second Baptist Church right before I went on vacation. Second Baptist received my contact information and forwarded it on to Mary H., who attends Second Baptist Church but no longer lives in White Plains. Mary had called and left a couple of messages while I was away on vacation.

Well, Mary is a Pierce descendant (her mother was a Pierce) and was born and raised in White Plains. However, we couldn’t determine a connection. She confirmed what I had already determined, that there are no more Pierces residing in White Plains. Mary and I had a good conversation and here are some of the highlights.

1. The first highlight is a bit strange but in a good way. Mary had recently run into some Pierces in Atlanta, GA. Their ancestry also goes back to White Plains, Greene County, GA. The man, George, which she talked to happen to mention that when he was a boy he had come to NC to live with his granddad for a while. Well turns out he lived in my hometown, the area my maternal grandparents settled in after leaving GA. I asked Mary to please pass my contact information along to George the next time she saw him. So, keep your fingers crossed that I’ve perhaps discovered another descendant / cousin.

2. But that’s not all. Mary also gave me the name of another church in White Plains to contact. Are you ready for the name of the church, Pierce Chapel AME. How cool is that?

I realize the name of the church may have no connection whatsoever to my Pierce Ancestors as the church more that likely was named for Rev. Lovick Pierce, a prominent minister from the area who was instrumental in organizing some of the black churches. But I think it’s a sign. I feel the ancestors stirring. I’ve not felt them doing that in awhile and true to form, both maternal and paternal seem to be stirring at the same time. So, I could be in for a very adventurous genealogical summer. I sure hope so!

Well, you know what I’ll be doing this week, contacting Pierce Chapel AME.

Until Next Time!

Madness Monday

Grandpa Jasper and Grandma Jane Pierce (Part IV)

I haven’t talked about the hunt for my 2nd great grandparents, Jasper and Jane Pierce, in awhile. The reason being at this point, there has been nothing to report.

If you will recall, in my last post on Grandpa Jasper and Grandma Jane, I had decided to try knocking on a few doors in White Plains via snail mail. I had planned to contact White Plains Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church, and Mrs. Mamie Hillman (Greene County African –American Cultural Museum and Resource Center).

1. White Plains Baptist Church did check their records for my ancestors and notified me that they did not have any records for Grandpa Jasper or Grandma Jane.
2. I’ve not heard from Mrs. Hillman or the Greene County African-American Cultural Museum and Resource Center. In trying to follow up on my snail mail correspondence, I’ve called and left messages at the telephone number listed on the Greene County African American Cultural Museum and Resource Center website as well as submitting a message via their website but as of yet, no response. I’m beginning to wonder if they are still in existence.
3. I’ve not written Second Baptist Church, yet. I’m still trying to determine a mailing address for them. I’ve tried searching online but all I find listed is Kilpatrick St., not even a street number. Based my initial attempts to write other organizations in Greene County, I would suspect that they have a post office box. Anybody have any tips on determining this? Would one just call the post office there? Do post offices give out that type of information? I’ve tried calling Second Baptist but it’s usually during the week and there is of course no one there. They don’t have an answering system, so I can’t leave a message.

What now?

I will continue with my efforts to try to contact Mrs. Hillman and Second Baptist Church but I’m also using other avenues to try to determine my ancestors’ last slave owner.

A few weeks ago (May 8), I ventured back to the Family History Center and ordered more microfilm and now am waiting for them to come in. Microfilms ordered were:

• White Plains Baptist Church Records, 1806 – 1921
• This was ordered prior to hearing from White Plains Baptist Church. Even though the church stated they had no record of my 2nd great grandparents, I will still check. Perhaps they overlooked them.
• Greene County GA Probate court Index to Records, 1790 – 1942
• This was ordered in hopes of 1) determining if there was any information available for Jesse F. Pierce. In previous posts, I laid the groundwork for why I believe Jesse Pierce was my ancestors last slave owner. I realize that he was still living in 1870 and 1880; however, I’m hoping that a probate record, if available, may still reveal something about his relationship to my ancestors.
• The other reason I ordered this is for the slim possibility that there may have been probate record(s) for Grandpa Jasper.
• Greene County GA Deeds General Index v. A-B 1785 – 1889
• I wasn’t sure whether I should order this one as it was unclear whether there were two volumes, labeled A and B, or whether it was surnames A-B. This was also ordered to try to gain information about Jesse F. Pierce and his property.

I’m also continuing to read up on the history of Greene County and am currently reading Tenants of the Almighty by Arthur F. Raper.

Wordless Wednesday

My first cousin, Vera, had this tote bag made for mom and her remaining siblings (Uncle Melvin, Aunt Lue, and Aunt Frances) for the 2008 Pierce reunion. The names you see under their pictures are their nicknames.


This picture is from the collection of the owner of this blog.

Tombstone Tuesday

Wyvonia Hosch Robinson

1934 - 1959

Boxwood Baptist Church Cememtery

Wyvonia is my first cousin, once removed. She is the daughter of my grand uncle, Will Hosch, and Maudie Johnson Hosch.

The picture is part of the personal collection of the owner of this blog.

Wordless Wednesday - Who is She?

Is this the infamous half sister, Mattie Henyard Martin, that only my grandmother seem to know about and thus only our line of my great grandparents descendants have ever heard about?

According to Little Irene, which is what mom and I both call our new found cousin, this picture hung on her grandmother Irene Martin Richardson's wall. There are no dates or names on the picture. Little Irene says some of the family says it's her grandmother's mother and others say that it's her grandmother's grandmother.

Both my mother and aunt Lucille recall seeing a picture of their Aunt Mattie but it's been so long ago that neither can say for sure whether the person in this picture resembles the person in the picture they remember seeing so many years ago.

This week, I talked with cousin Irene about trying to use the power of the internet to try to determine who the lady in this picture is. Both of us figured what have we got to lose. So, we are hopeful that somebody out there sees and recognizes this picture and can tell us who this pretty lady is.

Tombstone Tuesday

Bessie Mae Jackson Thomas

May 12 1914 - April 26, 1950

Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery

Monroe, Walton County, GA

Bessie is my 2nd cousin once removed (momma's first cousin). She is the daughter of Effie Pierce Jackson, grand aunt, and Arthur Hillman Jackson.

Picture obtained via photo request at FindAGrave.

Madness Monday

A Brief Return to the Hunt For Uncle Felton

After reading Ann Coffins’s post, SS-5 Waiting Game, about requesting a SS5 for someone who is not in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), I decided, once again, that I would try to determine what happened to Uncle Felton (my grand uncle) after 1919.

In my last post on Uncle Felton, Continuing the Hunt for Uncle Felton, I showed based on his military summary card, received from the Georgia State Archives, he did not die during WWI. In fact, he never even went overseas. He was in the reserves and was only in for six months. In addition, as mentioned in earlier posts, my mother remembers him coming to North Carolina when she was a child, to visit his big sister (that would be grandmom) and his nieces and nephews (mom and her siblings). This means that in the early 1930’s he was still alive.

Based on mom’s remembrances, I thought chances were good that he might have had a social security number even though I’ve not been able to find any documentation for Uncle Felton after 1919. I figured if he applied for a SSN that would at least give me a clue as to his movements after he was discharged from the army. So, I submitted a request for his SS5 application, along with the $29 fee on April 28th and continued working on other projects while I waited to hear back.

I received a response on Monday, May 10. I knew as soon as I felt the envelope, that there was no SS5 application inside. Initially, I wasn’t even going to open the envelope as I thought it was probably a letter stating that they had no SS5 application on file for him. However, I decided to go ahead and open it and see what was said.

Well, it’s your typical form letter, but the letter implies that there is an SS5 application on file for Uncle Felton but they don’t have any death information on him; therefore, the record can’t be released until I’m able to prove Uncle Felton’s death. Uhhh, given the fact that if he’s alive he would be 114 years old, can we just assume that he’s no longer with us. I understand the rule but doesn’t common sense need to take over at some point.

So, my frustration level in tracking Uncle Felton’s life continues to mount. How can my grand Uncle not leave some type of clues along the way for me, his grand niece, to figure out what happened to him after 1919? Did he get married? Did he have children? Did he die alone with no family around?

Uncle Felton’s life consumes and fascinates me almost as much as that of my great grandmother Fannie, Uncle Felton’s mother. So frustrations aside, I will continue to hunt for clues and hopefully, one day, this mystery will be solved. In the meantime, I’m back to the hunt for the last slave owner of Grandpa Jasper and Grandma Jane.