Cemetery monument at French Broad Church of the Brethren Tennessee

In sorting files, I found this in my genealogy file, source unknown, but the handwriting looks like my father's and I know he visited cemeteries in Tennessee while visiting relatives, but there is no signature on it. We also talked a lot about genealogy and family stories which makes sense of the final sentence.

"There is a monument in the cemetery at French Broad Church of the Brethren which reads (near Oak Grove, Tenn.) "French Broad Church of the Brethren

Charter Members              Side 1

Jacob Wine, Minister

Elizabeth Wine

Geo. W. Hepner

Martha Hepner

William Finck

Americus E. Finck

Thomas Finck

Sabrina Hepner

Maggie Satterfield

William Silvis

Betsy Forder

JNO. A. Collins

Mary A. B. Sloat

Mary Steadman

J. McClure

---------

Ministers Elder                    Side 2

Jacob Wine

Sterling W. Noe

JNO. A. Collins

Emanuel Newcomer Elder

JNO. Satterfield

W. R. Williford [our family name] Rev William R. Williford (1873-1938) - Find a Grave Memorial

Revel B. Pritchett Elder

                                                        Side 3

In memory of Alexander Mack 1679-1735 Founder of the Church of the Brethren (Dunkers) in Schwarzenau Province of Wittgenstein in Hesse-Cassel on River Eder, Holy Roman Empire 1708

"Dunkers were pioneers of religious education and Sunday School on this continent. Printed first religious magazine in North America and the first Bible in a European language in the new world, 1743, 1763, 1776.

Emigrated to America in 1719-1724-1729

Tennessee in 1783

Jefferson County in 1870"

Thought this might be of interest to you after our conversation the other evening."

NB: On Facebook I found the current name of the church, "Established in 1875, French Broad Community Church (formerly French Broad Church of the Brethren) is about continuing the work of Jesus. Peacefully. Simply. Together."

 

The creeping fascism of the federal government

 1. Joe Biden is overstepping on EV. He's declared that to meet climate goals (which no one believes in) we'll all have to have EVs by 2032 (2/3 of new cars, which means no one else will be able to buy gas). He has sold us out to China. EPA proposes new tailpipe rules that could push EVs to make up two-thirds of new car sales in US by 2032 | CNN Politics

(A) We don't have the grid, 

(B) we don't have the necessary products to create the batteries, and 

(C) we don't have a way to dispose of this toxic material.   

Batteries Are The Next Environmental Challenge (forbes.com)

This is regressive, not progressive. It is more polluting than anything we have now. This is a gift to China, who's already eating our lunch in the economic field and a gift to the auto companies. They made out like gang busters during Obama's war on the poor, called "cash for clunkers." Unilaterally deciding on what products can be produced and by which companies by the government IS fascism.

2. Joe Biden has quietly stated that the pandemic is over. Of course, that's ridiculous. It was over a long time ago.

 (A) Many of the laws and mandates about what we are allowed to say on social media or who can keep their jobs or who is allowed to defend the country haven't been rescinded. 

(B) We have never had an apology or even an investigation of what the violation of voting laws at the local and state level during the pandemic did to the 2020 election. Do you really think they'll just forget the power they grabbed from the people, from the states? By not being allowed to discuss it--that IS fascism. 

(C) Our churches have been silenced and still won't discuss or sue about the legality of what was done to Christians, Jews and Muslims in the U.S. which has a constitution that makes what the federal government did to us ILLEGAL. Outlawing religion IS fascism. 

Churches Still Recovering From Pandemic Losses - Lifeway Research

3. Declaring that boys will be girls and forcing girls to accept it and saying otherwise is a crime even though trans are .11% of the population (government figures), and then sending #2 honcho off to Tennessee to whine with the 2 black Justins who rioted and committed an insurrection because they wanted to protest about guns instead of the murder of children, that IS fascism--out and out mind control by the government. VP Harris meets with 'Tennessee Three' in surprise visit to Nashville after expulsions over gun protests (msn.com)

What happened in the Tennessee House when Democrats attacked Democracy?

Byron York compares what happened in TN House with what happened in Nancy's House in DC. 

"But the House, controlled by Republicans with a huge 75-24 majority, was on March 30 continuing a scheduled debate on school vouchers. To Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson — three of the state House’s 99 members — that was unacceptable. The majority was not addressing “the crisis at hand,” as Jones saw it. In Jones’ view, along with Pearson’s and Johnson’s, the House should have dropped what it was doing and addressed the situation [gun control] that Jones, Pearson and Johnson wanted it to address.

So Jones, who had sneaked a megaphone onto the House floor, took over the podium and began haranguing his fellow lawmakers. Playing to the crowd, he and Pearson handed the bullhorn back and forth and led the crowds in chants of “No action, no peace!” and “Enough is enough!” and “Power to the people!” Republicans retreated to a corner of the chamber to discuss how to regain control of the House. After nearly an hour, Jones, Pearson and Johnson left the floor, and the House returned to business.

It was as egregious a violation of rules as one could imagine — a move by a tiny group to temporarily shut down the state’s most important democratic institution. It clearly called out for punishment. After reviewing the incident, House Republicans expelled Jones and Pearson, and failed by one vote to expel Johnson, who had played a less active role in the takeover."

Byron York: When Democrats Attack Democracy | The Patriot Post

But that's Democrats. Rules are for the other folks, the dummies, and Veep Harris rushed in to applaud their lawlessness.

Happy 180th Anniversary

When John William Corbett was born in 1816, in Jefferson City, Jefferson, Tennessee, United States, his father, James Corbett, was 32 and his mother, Mary Polly GRISHAM, was 24. He married Elizabeth Eudaley on 5 January 1843, in Jefferson, Tennessee, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 7 daughters. He lived in Jefferson, Tennessee, United States in 1860 and Tennessee, United States in 1870. He died on 9 April 1907, at the age of 91, and was buried in Jefferson, Tennessee, United States. John Patton Corbett was the 11th of his 12 children.

History of this name: This is the name of a family descended from Hugh Corbet, a Norman baron who settled in Shropshire following the Norman Conquest. One of his descendants, Sir Richard Corbet, was granted land near Shrewsbury in 1223; since the 13th century, this place has been known as Moreton Corbet. The name was taken from Shropshire to Scotland in the 12th century and to northern Ireland in the 17th century, and thence to North America by at least one group of bearers of the name.

Aunt Leta and Uncle Ben

I can't recall when I signed up for Family Search, the huge Mormon data base of genealogy, but every now and then I get an interesting e-mail alerting me that there's new information in my family tree. Lask week it was the marriage certificate of my Aunt Leta and Uncle Ben. She was my grandmother's sister, and he was my grandfather's cousin. She lived in Illinois and he lived in Tennessee, but for some reason (I never heard a family story about it) they were married in Henerson Kentucky.  In my memory, they were always "old," but I was surprised to see they didn't get married until 1940, Ben was 46 and Leta was 34. Leta's baby sister, Ada, who would have been about 26, was one of the witnesses. They had no children, but Ben had a son Gene from a first marriage who was mentally challenged. Gene died in 1999 having lived many years in a care facility, and by then there was almost no one to look after the final arrangements and burial. Except my dad who was in his 80s. He made the arrangements and went to the cemetery with a few other distant cousins in the cold and snow to pay respects, because that's what families do. I think he got pneumonia. You just never know what old memories will show up in your e-mail.

Ronald Spire

 Ronald Spire Obituary 2021 - Farrar Funeral Home

Representative Diane Black of TN doesn't think much of Obama's directive

Black called the Dear Colleague letter from the Department of Education and Department of Justice an “attempt to bully our local schools into submission to the Obama Administration’s agenda” and added that she believed “the Obama Administration is now directly responsible for endangering our students.”

“This attempt to bully our local schools into submission to the Obama Administration’s agenda is shameful and a gross abuse of the federal government’s power,” Black said in a statement. “It has nothing to do with compassion for minority student populations and everything to do with political opportunism for the next election.

“We all agree on the rights of students to be treated with dignity and respect,” Black emphasized, “but that right must also exist alongside the rights of students to maintain their privacy and safety in their own schools.”

Black added that as a grandmother of young girls, she believes “the Obama Administration is now directly responsible for endangering our students.”

“It is worth noting that this directive does not carry the force of law and I would encourage Tennessee school officials to continue following their consciences,” she said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/rep-black-slams-transgender-restroom-access-mandate-administration-now

Monday Memories--The Tennessee Reunions of Northern Illinois

I’ve written at this blog about the Tennessee connections based on the memories of my father.  After my great-grandfather moved to Illinois, he helped a number of families come north and get settled.  They would meet for picnics when a visiting relative was in the area, and it came to be known as the Tennessee Reunion.  The first my dad remembered was around 1924.  All the people who attended (with the exception of the children born in Illinois) had known each other back in Tennessee--Martins, Millers, Ballards, Corbetts, Biggs, Vessers, and Willifords and some others.  Most were related by blood or marriage.
Today I received a photo, too long for my scanner of the reunion held at Lawrence Park, Sterling, Illinois on July 14, 1929.  As near as I can tell, the Ballards and Corbetts are at the left.  Since I didn’t know any of these people when they were this young, I haven’t identified all of them. 

I think the two girls with dark hair sitting with the children, about 6 people from the left, might be Dorothy and Gladys Corbett, with possibly their cousin Phil Ballard between them.  Their mother Bessie is directly behind them, and maybe her mother Leanor Ballard is next to her.  It’s possible that Roy and Helen Ballard are next to Art and Myrtle Ballard. I can’t pick out my great-grandfather, but he was usually the tallest one.
Imagine being so dressed up for a picnic? People had some pride in appearances in those days.

Monday Memories--Posting bond to get married in early 19th century in Tennessee

Charles A. Sherrill, Tenn. State Library & Archives; has furnished the following information on this subject according to his understanding of the material he has read at the TNGenWEb Project.

"The groom had to assure the State that he was able to be legally married (was not already married to someone else, under age, or ineligible because of close blood relationship, etc.)

This assurance was given in the form of a bond for a certain amount of money. The friend or relative signed as the groom's security on the bond, commonly known as becoming a bondsman.

If indeed the groom had been sued for violating the marriage contract, the bondsman would have had to pay any legal damages if the groom defaulted.
No money actually changed hands at the time the bond was issued. This bonding procedure was used across Tennessee and in other southern states in the 19th century.

It's a good thing no money actually changed hands--I doubt that James or John (Polly's brother) could have come up with $1250.

Mary "Polly" Gresham Corbett died in 1884 at age 96. Two of her brothers married two of James' sisters, Martha and Polly. As near as I can tell from the records handed down, James Corbett and his siblings were 2nd generation Americans, and their father, an Irish immigrant, fought in the Revolutionary War, and received a pension. Although in the 19th century they all lived in Tennessee, originally they lived in North Carolina, the western part of which became eastern Tennessee.

2409 For Family Only

The rest of you won't care about this photo, but I'm just thrilled to have it. So just move along--if you don't like sappy and sentimental.


When I opened the envelope tears came to my eyes. I had seen this photo flash by in a DVD made by my second cousin (we have the same great-grand parents). I contacted her aunt to find out who they were. She wasn't sure, but said she'd find out. And then the photo arrived with a note from my cousin. This is the wedding photo of my grandmother's grandparents of Jefferson County, TN, James and Mary Ann Elizabeth Williford. It looks like it's been through some hard times--that it had been folded, and chipped, and maybe a cup or something placed on it. I don't know its provenance. Only one granddaughter of this couple is still living, the sister of my grandmother--she's 91 and I visited her last year. She probably has a copy of this, or this is a copy of hers. There are so many things I don't know about this couple that I'd like to ask.

So I go into my genealogy software and look them up. I found out quite a bit about this family on the internet some years ago because in Tennessee during the Depression there was an attempt to record family information from old Bibles, and that has since been put on the internet by county. James and Mary Ann Elizabeth had nine children. Leanor, my great-grandmother, was only 10 years old when her father, the handsome young bridegroom of this photo, died. I knew her. Used to run down the street and sit on her front porch swing and listen to her soft Southern drawl and gentle laugh. By then she'd probably buried those hurts of 60 years before. Why would she have even mentioned such a sadness to a little five year old whose own daddy was off in a war? How did such a large family survive with only a woman to head the household? James' father was over 50 years old when he was born, so how much help could they have been if still alive? Even my grandmother, Bessie, born in 1895, didn't know this couple. They had both died before she was born. For many years Grandma Bessie was our family archive--her phenomenal memory could retrieve the stories with ease. After her death, we'd ask my father. When he died it was like the library had been burned, and my paltry software is no match for the stories he heard from his parents and grandparents and at the Tennessee Reunions that were held in northern Illinois for many years.

However, we don't know what we don't know do we? So we don't ask.