#52Ancestors-Week 46-Random Fact

Okay, this is a weird one and really caught me off guard!  I requested WWII Service records for one of my great-uncles.  When they arrived, I read this random fact: Right testicle surgically removed when he had hernia surgery.  Not really a fact I needed to know about him, but there it was.  You never know what you might learn about an ancestor!

#52Ancestors-Week 45-Bearded

This week's prompt is Bearded.  I believe that the closest ancestor I have who wore a beard was my great grandfather, Moses Thompson Adamson.  Below here Moses is pictured with his wife Lydia.  Moses was born in 1838 and every picture I have seen of him, he is bearded.

#52Ancestors-Week 44: Frightening

Here is what I find frightening....all of the information that is somewhere out there that I may never find or learn!

This past month, I heard from a fourth cousin once removed, who is descended from a sister of my great-great-great grandfather, Patrick Smyth (born in 1809 in Ireland).  This cousin has a great deal more information on the Smyth family than I.  Including Patrick Smyth's parents names!!!  Incredible!

I am so thankful that there are people willing to reach out and share information!

#52Ancestors-Week 43-Cause of Death: Edward E. Adamson

from The Houston Herald, Texas County, MO, July 11, 2002, page 8:

from Mildred Melton's Scrapbook for the year 1879:

"August 8, 1879 Prosecuting Attorney Geiger, Dr. BF Morgan, Jackson Davis, CM Hill and Beauregard Ross went to the Hamilton neighborhood up the river to disinter the body of a young man named Adamson who committed suicide on account of troubles with his wife.  Foul play is now suspected." 

I have tried to find out information about this cause of death for years.  The young man was Edward E. Adamson.  He had been born in about 1857 in Missouri.  He married Martha "Mattie" E. Eldridge in 1875 in Texas County, Missouri. I have found no solid evidence of Mattie since his death.  She may have married George Morse in 1880, but again, I do not have solid proof that this is the same woman, since she is listed as "Mattie Eldridge" for the marriage to George, instead of "Mattie Adamson". I have found neither her nor George in the 1880 Census listings. I tried to get coroner records for the death of Edward Adamson, but was told that the records don't exist. Nor have I come across any other newspaper articles about his death.  So was it a suicide or was it foul play?

#52Ancestors-Week 40-Ten: William Adamson's 10 Children

The theme for this week is Ten.  I thought about who might have had ten children and came up with the following:

William Adamson was my great-great-great grandfather.  He was born around 1789 in North Carolina.  It is believed that he married Mary "Polly" Wilson in 1806 in Lebanon County, Tennessee. William and Mary had ten known children:

Aaron W.      born around 1808  (my great-great grandfather)
Allen            born around 1809
William A.   born in 1812
Robert          born in 1818
Mary            born around 1819
Michael       born around 1823
female         born between 1825 to 1830
Nancy         born around 1829
James          born around 1830
John W.       born in 1832

As you can see, I only know exact years of birth for three of the ten children. That is frustrating, but I can only work with the records that I can find! The child listed as "female" has only been found in the 1840 Census records.  So she had either died or was married by the 1850 Census. The first eight children were born in Tennessee, and the last two were born in Kentucky. All of the children married (exception with the "female" who I don't know about her status). From these ten children were thirty-nine known grandchildren.

#52Ancestors-Week 42-Conflict: Sam Gray

Sam Gray died in 1953.  He left only one of his sons surviving him, along with his second wife. But his will had been written in 1935 and stated the following:

“I give, bequeath and devise to my wife, Etta Gray and to my children, Lotta N. Adamson, Fred W. Gray and Bertha M. McQueen, all my property of any kind or nature whatsoever. Share and share alike.”

Lotta and Bertha died before their father Sam did, so when the estate was being settled Lotta's children and Bertha's daughter, along with Sam's son Fred were left as his heirs.  As was his second wife, Etta.  And that's where the conflict began.  Between Sam's children and grandchildren and the second wife.  It got ugly.  "Share and share alike" did not happen!

#52Ancestors-Week 41-Sports: Arthur Logan Adamson

This week the topic is Sports.  Nothing really jumped out to me to write about, except that my paternal grandfather was the quarterback for his college.  The special thing about this is that he attended Westfield College and graduated in 1906 "after three years of hard work and summer school".  How many people have grandfathers who attended college in the very early 1900's.  Seems pretty unusual to me! (although my grandmother also graduated from Westfield College-it may be even more unusual that a woman graduated from college back then).