Mystery Solved? (the 2-Truths-and-a-Lie version)

After years of searching & speculating, I think we've (two cousins and I) have finally cracked what might be considered a brick wall. Whether you want to call it a brick wall could certainly be debatable, as the information that we lacked never kept us from researching generations further back, but certainly kept us in the dark about the eternal "why?". 

Why the load of philosophical rambling? Well, as it has been for as long as I can remember, the easy part was defining the problem. In this case: why did my great-grandfather, who was born David West Wolfe in Lewes, DE, change his name to Charles Everett Clinton?

As with any 'why' question there are quite a number of facts that have to be examined, which I have done extensively here, here, and . . . here

A summary of those examinations you ask? Certainly . . . while using his birth name, David W. Wolfe married Rebecca Belle Crenshaw (Belle) in 1898 in Bonita, Montague Co, TX. Belle was 20 years his junior. Between 1898 and David's death in 1942 in Los Angeles, they moved no fewer than 13 times (and those are the ones we know about), living in states as far apart as California, Arkansas, and Kansas, and many in between. The moves were not easy, 1) because they were often cross-country--think multiple moves to & from CA; 2) because between 1899 and 1920, they had 13 children, 9 of whom lived to adulthood. Sometime in or slightly before 1904, David most likely changed the name as Charles Everett Clinton, Jr. was born and you can't very well have a 'Jr.' without a 'Sr.' as an eponym. Great-grandpa David/Charles was a butcher.

Thus the 'why?'

The possible explanations that I grew up hearing started with (from earliest to latest): Explanation 1) Great-grandpa changed his name because there was a criminal with his same name and he didn't want the authorities bothering him again. Explanation 2) Great-grandpa was trying to evade an ex-wife - courtesy of his son, Uncle Howard. And Explanation 3) Great-grandpa was in fact a criminal himself--my supposition, but in my mind, being creative as I am, I saw him as 'the butcher' rather than simply 'a butcher', gallivanting across country to cover up a string of serial killings and never actually getting caught (I was about 18 when I came up with the murder part), but the thought that he might have been another type of criminal was always the more likely scenario as a part of the third explanation.

However, life seldom presents anything as grand as we imagine, and ironically enough, it turns out that 2 of the 3 explanations were, at least in part, true. Almost as if Great-grandpa were playing a version of 2 truths and a lie or more appropriately, we were creating one for him.

1) False

2) True. Great-grandpa, as David W. Wolfe, married a woman named Fannie Johnson (of Delaware). With her he had 2 children, William & Margaret, both of whom married and had children, so there may be cousins through David/Charles who still have the Wolfe name. (Ironically, William and his family, followed by Fannie had relocated to Montana by 1920 and William's wife and 2 of their children were in San Diego, California by 1930, perhaps in search of our elusive progenitor).

3) True . . . ish. Great-grandpa was a criminal, more appropriately a debtor (which in England would have landed him in debtors prison, so true after a fashion), and I'm waiting on more details on this from my cousins with whom I'm working. But one of them has found newspaper articles showing that the courts in Delaware repossessed his property in payment of his debt.

So . . . there you have it. Not an answer for why he chose Clinton, which we probably will never know. Not nearly as glamorous as 20+ years of searching (yes, I actually remember talking about this as a 5 year old when we visited Uncle Howard) would have led you to believe it might be. But an answer nonetheless and one that I'm elated to have found.

The funny thing is, now that I've found out 'why' . . . what do I do next?

As long as this is, please know that I can go into much more detail if you want, or if you want to see some of the details of the documents.

Now, about those Delaware Wolfes . . . all those Reeces (and I don't mean the candy).

Happy Hunting!

AFN

DCC

19 May 2010

Athens, Georgia

Nicholas Diehl 1811-c1890

Looking for Dead People
Dad & I took a trip up to Jefferson & Burke Counties yesterday to do a little digging and preservation. Here's some of the 'found' material. We've known a good bit of this for a while and had the picture below for 10+ years, but here it is . . .

Nicholas Diehl's first signature in Jefferson County records as court ordinary, July 1, 1850.

Nicholas Diehl was the grandson of an immigrant to the US, Johann Nicolaus Diehl (also was a captain in the Revolutionary War and served in the Long Island Campaign), as such in all of my records, I've noted him as Nicholas Diehl, III as his father is also Nicholas Diehl. The Diehl family lived in and around the Philadelphia area and owned land on Tinicum Island, on which now sits the Philadelphia International Airport. He moved with his sister Margaretta to Savannah, GA.

By 1839 he was living in Jefferson County, GA's 82nd Militia District, said more succinctly, Louisville, GA and listed in the tax digest of 1839. The last official record that I've found for him was a land record that he signed in 1888. His will is unprobated, but dated 1889 (what that means is that there is a record of the will, but it was not administered or entered into the official record in the books in Jefferson County). As confusing as that might be, his will exists, but is in the drawers of documents in the Probate vault in Jefferson County, GA in Box #13 (1/2 De-Ey, Fa-1/2 Fl).

Aside from that he was also, as indicated by the signature above, the Court Ordinary (in today's terms Clerk of Courts) for Jefferson County and served in that capacity from 1850 until at least 1888. Unfortunately we have no pictures of him, but his writing and signatures are well preserved throughout the records of Jefferson County during that time.

"Marriage Licenses Granted since the Surrender to White Persons": Also in the hand of Nicholas Diehl. As I'm sure you can guess the records in this particular section started in 1864-5, with a few coming before the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Ironically, his son Robert A. Diehl, who would later be county coroner, is part of the fourth marriage on this list, marrying Sarah A. Thomas on Jan. 1, 1865.

He also served as a photography as there is an add in the Louisville paper for him making Daguerreotypes in the upper floor of the courthouse. Also, though we do not have proof of it, it's likely that he took this picture which is of Jefferson County Civil War soldiers who were home from the war. One of them is Pvt. John Jesse Thompson whose son Seabron Augustus would marry Nicholas' granddaughter Lela Eleanor Diehl.

Civil War soldiers in Jefferson Co, Georgia during the war. The private standing on the right is John Jesse Thompson, my great-great-great grandfather. John Jesse had his left arm amputated from the shoulder down as a result of injuries in the Battle of Fredericksburg. In this picture, you can see that his left shoulder is essentially missing and that his left sleeve is apparently pinned where his elbow would have been.

Nicholas Diehl is my 4th-great grandfather and one of only two family lines (on both Mom's & Dad's sides) that I've found that originate north of Virginia/the Mason-Dixon line.

AFN
DCC
Vidalia, GA 29 December 2009

A Special Time

There may be a glut of posts over the next few days after a 6 month hiatus. This one is one that my grandfather 'Pa' wrote about a stroll he took with my cousin Jennifer when he was visiting her and her parents in Packwood, Washington back in the early '80s.

"'A Special Time'
They stroll down the tree shaded mountain lane hand in hand. Love and affection is predominant as they smile and gather wild flowers for grandma. They make a rather unique picture. The long & short or the Mutt & Jeff appearance adds to the scene. The tiny hand of the diminutive granddaughter, swallowed up in the gnarled grip of her bearded grandpa, who towers over her like the large pines that line the road.

They pick up pebbles to throw at imaginary targets. The flowers, ferns and grasses all get their share of special attention but the smiles widen as wild berries are found. To pick wild berries for grandma is the main reason for the walk. The taste of these berries widen the smiles even more and the goo intentions go by the wayside. Grandma must be content to smell the flowers.
After a time they wend their way home, having partaken fully of the love & affection that exists between grandpa & granddaughter. May it ever be so.

B.C.
7/17/1982"

I love the scene.

AFN
DCC
Vidalia, GA, 24 December 2009

Digitizing (read preserving) the Past

Man, did May ever fly by! I didn't realize that I'd gone a month again without posting. Here's a preview of things to come, albeit that they will come VERY slowly, merely because of the nature of the work. Of course, my pace probably doesn't help. Here's the list though.

Digitization of Letters:
I've digitized one letter on here from 1920, this is the plan for those to follow.

As I embark on the long, but necessary journey of digitizing and transcribing my grandparents’ letters and letters of older generations (what few I have), I want to note a few observances regarding the letters.

First, I intend to digitize into *.jpeg format each of the letters into files in which each of file will be named for the date the envelope was postmarked denoted as follows 1957.06.01 pm. A date/file name without the ‘pm’ indicates that there was a letter, but no envelope.

I will try to get them organized in related segments/events, and then of course by date. My goal, ultimately, will be to have all of them digitized and typed. As best I can, I will digitize and type the older ones first.

The letters generally will fall into the following groups.

Pre-1940
Most of these fall into the WWI era time frame with one coming just after the war in 1920 (which has already been digitized and transcribed) and a group of letters having been written from a family in France who had befriended Edward Gordon Ponder and kept up correspondence with his youngest sister Dollye Elizabeth Ponder Thompson, Mme. Guiggard and her daughter according to the letters. The spelling is the best interpretation/transcription I can decipher.

Military letters:
Most of these that I will publish will be from WWII, so as to maintain the standard that the primary writers are no longer living, to protect identity, etc. as much as possible. The bulk of these letters were written from Allen Vernon Tuten to his parents Joseph Alexander and Ruth Rogers Tuten. I will also scan and transcribe a journal that one of A. V. Tuten’s crew-mates kept regarding their missions in Europe. There are a few letters that Marguerite Elizabeth Thompson, while in boot camp, wrote to Ralph and Naomi ‘Jane’ Bowden. There are a few military documents as well that I will scan and include.

1957
These letters were written while Robert Harold Clinton & Marguerite Elizabeth Thompson Clinton, referring to each other as Baja and Tommy or Tombone respectively through out the letters, were living apart from each other between May 1957 and Sept. 1957. Baja was in Norwalk, California writing to Tommy and their children in Watkinsville, Georgia and vice versa. Unfortunately, the letters for the month of July that Tommy wrote to Baja are currently missing, and likely lost to posterity. All of the letters written from Baja to Tommy, to my knowledge are accounted for.

While writing to each other during this time, they rarely missed a day of writing, and the letters that I have read thus far have been descriptive of their days and especially full of love for each other and almost disconsolate longing and loneliness while apart.

For each set of letters, mistakes within the letters will be kept as is with the typical notation of [sic] after each.

I will try without too much commentary to let the letters speak for themselves. When narration is necessary or beneficial, I will provide it.

AFN
DCC
Athens, GA 4 June 2009
Rainy

Robert Harold Clinton, Sr. Ancestry, Matthew, Ch. 1, Pt. I

A continuation/start to the post that I started back in January. I'll post links and such later when not at work and I have more time to do anything other than cut & paste what I typed last night. You should get the idea.

A lineal ascent to my grandfather, Robert Harold Clinton, Sr.

I think ascent works there. I’ll first follow the male then the female lines of each as I have knowledge of them, with a couple lines about each with full ‘details’ to follow later. I’ll provide dates so you know where this runs.

Robert H. Clinton (May 12, 1920 Los Angeles, CA-March 25, 1990 Athens, GA; Bob, Baja, Clint, Pa, Doc), later adding Sr. to his name, was the son of Charles Everett Clinton, Sr. (nee. David West/Roland Wolfe) and Rebecca Belle Crenshaw (preferred Belle). Robert was an architect and cabinet maker by trade. As mentioned in Wayfarers and something I’ll repost eventually Charles/David changed his name sometime around 1904, as evidenced by the naming of their first three children with the last name of Wolfe and that the son who was born that year they named Charles E. Clinton, Jr.

Charles/David (1860 Lewes, DE-1942 Los Angeles, CA) was the son of Reece Becket Wolfe, II/Jr. (there’s some debate in the family as to whether he ever used the II or Jr. at all, but it’s easier to delineate using that) and Mary Hazzard West. Reece and Charles/David were both butchers by trade. At this point, this line, very much like the rest of my ancestors with the state of Georgia, stays very fixed geographically around and in Lewes, DE almost to the founding of the colony, including as an ancestor Rev. William Becket, from whom Reece gets his middle name. As you will see, there are also many Reece/Rice/Riss names (but not Reese) in this line as well.

Reece B. (Nov. 30,1828 Lewes, DE-June 18,1901 Philadelphia, PA) was the son of Reece Becket Wolfe I/Sr. and Nancy Waples. We have no further information regarding the Waples family.

Reece B., I/Sr. (1791 Lewes, DE-1854 Lewes, DE) was the son of William Wolfe and Mary Becket Futcher. Through Mary B. Futcher, we are descended from Rev. William Becket, who was one of the earliest Anglican missionaries in the Delaware area as a member of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, arriving in Lewes Sept. 1, 1721. The Beckett family is originally from Over Peover, Cheshire , England .

William Wolfe (July 15, 1766 Lewes, DE-July 7, 1818 Lewes, DE) was the son of Reece Wolfe/Woolf, Jr. (both spellings are in the records) and Mary White. We have no further information on the ancestry of Mary White. William was a lawyer by profession.

Reece/Rice Wolfe/Woolf (July 15 1733 Lewes , DE -bef May 10, 1797 Lewes DE , date indicated is the date of will probate) was the son of Francis Wolfe and Sarah Brooksby. We have no further information on the ancestry of Sarah Brooksby. Reece/Rice was a yeoman farmer.

Francis Wolfe/Woolf (bef. 1715 Lewes, DE-c1755 Lewes , DE ) was the son of Rice/Riss Woolf and Mary Cornwell. Francis was a carpenter by trade. Francis acquired 1500 acres on what would become known as Wolfe’s Creek, a branch of Lewes Creek.

Rice/Riss Woolf (bet 1670-75 Lewes, DE-1715/16 Lewes, DE, will was made Feb. 18, 1715/16) was the son of William Woolf, who is the first known ancestor to live in the American colonies though we do not know the country of origin. Rice/Riss was a yeoman farmer by trade.Tradition states that the Wolfe/Woolf line comes from Germany , but it is possible that the line originated in England or Sweden or the Netherlands , given that those were the original colonial powers in the Delaware area.

William Woolf/Wolfe is the first known ancestor in this line to live in the American colonies. There are land deed records referencing transactions between William Woolf and other parties beginning as early as Sept. 1693 and going as late as March 1694.

AFN
DCC
Athens, GA, 7 May 2009

WWI & WWII Relics

First of all, Happy Easter!

I mentioned WWI & II items that I had recently; however, these were not the ones that intended. But, I think they'll do for now. They're two of my favorite pieces that I've found in amongst the forgotten piles of artifacts that sat so long at my grandparent's (Bob & Marguerite Clinton). In all honesty, as with the earlier letter, these are just a small portion of the photos/relics that I want to preserve and/or digitize that we found at the house. I'll have these two in chronological order.

Death Certificate of Corp. Edward Gordon Ponder

This one is fairly explanatory in terms of what it is, and the heading pretty well takes care of that. Whether it's actually his signature or not, I don't know, but it is signed by General John 'Black Jack' Pershing, who was the commander of the AEF during the Great War.

As I've mentioned previously Gordon, as he was called by his family, and was mentioned in the previously published letter on this blog, died of illness, rather than gunshot or any violent means, at the end of Oct. 1918, within a couple weeks of the armistice. Here's a BW photo (courtesy of my new camera) that I took of the certificate.

V-E Day!

This one is even more self-explanatory. Another 'relic' that I found at my grandparents' house. Whether my grandmother (M.E. Thompson Clinton) or great-grandmother (Belle Crenshaw Clinton, one of the wayfarers) kept the paper originally, I do not know, but it was likely one of them who held onto the paper at the end of the European war. Again, in BW.

More to come as I can get things digitized.

AFN

DCC

Vidalia, GA 12 April 2009

I Need Ya for the Harvest Boy . . .

Unfortunately, I've both been busy and forgetful for the last month and a half, but now that we're done w/ the 'busy' season at work, likened perhaps unto harvest season. If you know what I do, you should get the analogy.

That said, I'm hoping to get back to posting more regularly. I need to find a way to hook up the scanner that I've recently acquired, but that could be tricky. Until then, I'll post what I have scanned and type what I can remember. I also need to get to the lineage/Matthew Ch. 1 posting for my grandparents so this connects somehow, but until then. A few pics to suffice.

Memories of the Great War:
From WWI: Found with these pages (letters from Ida Benton Lester Ponder to her sister in 1920) this clipping gave me more information regarding the Ponder side of the family, which I did not have before and to my knowledge no one knew who is now alive. The gist of the story is that Clemmie Ponder Cates (identified as Mrs. John G. Cates in the clipping), the daughter of I.B. Ponder above, was selected among 130 or so mothers of soldiers who died during the Great War to make the trip to France to see the graves of their sons buried there. Recognized as American Gold Star Mothers, the group left in time to get to the site on Memorial Day. The back side of the clipping notes that it is from the June 19, 1933 edition of the Macon Telegraph. It notes that Clemmie wore gold crosses for her son Robert Cates as well as her brother, Gordon, who is mentioned in the aforementioned letters.

It notes that she returned to 131 Appleton Ave, which I presume is in Macon, GA as I have some record of them living there in the 1930 census. If you open the full image, you should be able to read the entirety of the clipping. I'll type the full version of it and repost the typed version soon, but this is a clip from it. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for her as both her brother and her son died within 10 days of each other of illness, not bullets, and both within 2 weeks of the Armistice on Nov. 11, with her son, dying on the very day the Armistice took effect. Here's part of the article:

“‘My boy was 19 when he went,’ the smooth-faced, strong, dark-haired mother recalled. ‘And he was the oldest. He’d been begging to go for a long time, but I just couldn’t give my consent. Finally I did on July 17, for I thought then they were just about to draft the 19-year-olds, and he was so anxious.

‘He became sick at Camp Johnson, and didn’t get well on the way over. They sent him to the base hospital at Brest. We got one little letter dictated to a Red Cross woman saying he’d been a little sick, but that he’d soon be on his feet again. The next thing we heard—we got the telegram saying he was dead.’”


More to come on WWII later. I was going to post a couple of Pa's (Robert H. Clinton, Sr.) WWII memorabilia, but have run short on time. I'll post more with those later.

AFN
DCC
Athens, GA 27 March 2009
Rainy