52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Pets

I had an assortment of pets growing up from livestock to domestic pets. One of my first pets was a rabbit. Not a very friendly rabbit. I also had many cats which tended to be rather aloof and not too cuddly. We also kept some birds which the cats often harassed. I did enjoy several litters of kittens which were born in our garage. I remember the mother cats tried to move their kittens into my closet :D. 

I remember I also had a tiny turtle named Timmy who would often escape his home. We would have to comb the house to find him.

We also had a rooster which would wake the neighbors up so we had to get rid of it. 

I became very attached to my apricot poodle named Romeo. I got him around the time of my Junior High School graduation. He was much more fun than the cats. He was a very lively companion, and like a little brother to me. He lived to be about 15 years old. It was a very sad day when he had to be put to sleep.

I don't have any pets now. Just no time to care for a pet now. 

More Fun with Maps

The findagrave website has so much great information besides cemetery listings. I found a picture of the marker above at that site. It put me on the right track as to where the Looneys lived. They were neighbors of my likely ancestors Andrew Forgey and Margaret Reynolds. I noticed a street called Looney's Gap road. I thought that Andrew's land may have been located around there. No, after using this sign to do more internet research I determined that the Looneys originally lived near the Forgeys on Possum Creek, but later relocated to the location where Looney's Gap Rd. is, which is on Big Creek. So Andrew did not live near that road.

When I looked at Andew Forgey's land grant again I noticed it specifically says he lived in North Stanley Valley.

I would like to do some research with Tract Books to pinpoint the location of the land.

I am very curious as to whether descendants of Andrew Forgey still own any of his 400 acre land grant?

Stanley Valley

I've been touring the area where my ancestors lived using google street view. They lived in Stanley Valley, Hawkins County, Tennessee and later migrated over the border into Scott County, Virginia.
Stanley Valley is a narrow valley so it should be fairly easy to pinpoint where the family lived.
The only coordinates I have are Possum Creek and according to a great-grandson of the family they lived 17 miles from Rogersville. Using these directions I believe I have been able to get pretty close to where they lived. It's been really wonderful to actually see the area :)! It's really moving seeing the area.

I have also been able to see the ancestral land in Scott County thanks to the directions of distant cousins. Its a very lush green area.
I've contacted a local expert in Hawkins County, TN hoping to get advise on how to pinpoint the exact location of the Forgey land.

St. John Vianney Church

The church I have been attending since childhood was burned in an arson fire on Friday night. It is really heartbreaking for all of us. One of the Priests ruptured a tendon a couple of months ago and just came to for today's Palm Sunday service, which was held in the church hall. He was given a standing ovation. As he said "We will rise again." The rectory was saved but the heat from the fire blew out all the windows and much of the interior was melted. Luckily none of the priests were killed. A fireman had to pull one of them to safety. The church is a total loss. The damage is estimated at 8 million dollars.

It's sound like it's going to take two or three years to rebuild. I feel sorry for anyone who had the church booked  for their wedding :(. It is nice that people are sharing their pictures of the church as it was at this facebook site https://www.facebook.com/RebuildStJohnVianneyChurch

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Sports

In the late 1970's and early 1980's some of my best days were spent with by father at Dodgers' baseball games. That was a classic era in Dodger baseball.  In Fielder's Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davy Lopes, and Steve Yeager behind the plate. I also remember Fernando mania. Whenever he pitched in his early career the stadium would be packed.  

We would always sit in the left field section so I could watch my favorite player Bill Buckner.

Family nights and celebrity nights were some of my favorite. I remember getting Tony Danza's autograph at a celebrity night. I remember that he was one of the nicest celebrities I have ever met. I dropped my pen into the Dodger dugout and he retrieved it for me. 

We always ate a couple Dodger of dogs every game. There is nothing better than a tasty Dodger dog on a beautiful day at the stadium!

Dodger Stadium has always been located in a bad section of Los Angeles, a gang ridden area. The recent beating of a fan really saddened me, but was not completely a surprise given the fact that gang members live in the area and attend games. Hopefully increased security will prevent this from happening again.

BYUtv - The Generations Project: Emily

BYUtv - The Generations Project: Emily

I really enjoyed this Generations Project episode! Emily brought up some questions that never occurred to me :D. It isn't everyday that someone shows up to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City asking how their ancestor smelled. Researchers were able to come up with a reasonably good answer for her. They drew a conclusion about what he likely smelled like from the occupation listed on the Census for him. They even found a description of the odors associated with his occupation (which was teamster).
I have not put much thought into the self-esteem level of my ancestors either. I have noticed that some were more successful than others. I've also noticed that some siblings have been more successful than other. In the case of  my Forgey family I have noted that James Forgey seemed to be financially better off than his brother my ancestor Hugh. His father Andrew seemed to favor James more than Hugh also. I don't know whether it affected his self-esteemed or not?
Still working on organizing my genealogy.
The Second Life meeting yesterday was done in voice chat. It was very interesting regarding government land records. I found out that cash purchase entries rarely contain anything other than the patent and receipt. My ancestors only purchased land this way, they did not homestead.

Need to Organize My Genealogy

I have been studying Myrt's April organizational checklist and looking at Elyse Dorflinger's videos. I have not been good when it comes to organizing my genealogy. I tend to organize every now and then but don't keep it up. My resolution for this year is to simplify everything so it isn't so challenging to maintain. Ease of access is definitely what I am striving for. I need to buy some file folders and hanging folders. I use binders also. The hanging folders will mainly contain misc. info and collateral lines.
My email boxes and computer files need some more work too!

Don't Know the History

After attending several webinars on writing your family history I decided to get started writing about the Tennessee Forgeys. I soon realized that I did not have a good handle on the history of the area they came from :(. I have really been studying early maps and all of the early histories I can find online. The early history tends to be somewhat sketchy. I would like to use some statistics about the early population but I am finding that this kind of info was never recorded in late 18th Tennessee. I am finding some very interesting historical info to add to the family history however.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Spring

Spring in California

You know it's spring in Califonia when the hills are yellow with the blooms of the mustard plant. It's a nice change from the dry brown scrub which cover the hill sides the rest of the year.

California has some beautiful gardens which are gorgeous in the Spring. The Huntington Library, Descanso Gardens, and the LA County Arboretum are great place to visit and enjoy the Spring :)! 

Absconding Cousin

According to Gov. John Reynolds his father Robert was persuaded, by glowing reports of New Spain which he heard from neighbors in Knox County, TN, to migrate to that area. Knox County Court Records give an alternate reason.
"Of a certain Robert Reynolds at a court of pleas and quarter sessions of Knox County...who has since absconded is now (as your petitioner is informed) in the Spanish Dominions..."
When the family arrived in the Spanish Dominions they found out they would be required to 
convert to Catholicism. They were Ulster Protestants and could never agree to such a thing.

So the family settled in Illinois Country, east of the Mississippi, instead. The area west of the Mississippi was the Spanish Dominion.

John Beaird's Times

Hugh Forgey's brother in-law's life really reflected the times he lived in. I have been searching for more about him at Google Books. I have found more about his campaign against the Cherokees. There was a great deal of anger among the white settlers at that time because of the murder of a white man by the Cherokees. I guess John Beaird's attack was fueled by anger over this murder and previous murders. He received the support of the local white population in eastern Tennessee.

He apparently also brought a slave into Indiana Territory (now southwestern Illinois) and a court case ensued.  I would like to research this some more. Could not access the full case at Google Books.

John's close associate Robert Reynolds petitioned to allow slaves to be brought into the area. He was also a pro-slavery delegate to the Convention called by Gov. Harrison.

Assembling the Puzzle...

Knollwood Home of Robert B. Reynolds

I have found the family histories for the Reynolds family complicated and confusing. Everyone seems to have their own complicated numbering system etc., which they understand but is difficult for an outsider to interpret. After looking for several days now at everything I've collected on the family I now understand who's who.

Three Reynolds siblings migrated to America from Ireland, Margaret Reynolds was the first to come with her husband Andrew Forgey abt. 1768.  A little more than a decade later her brother James Reynolds and sister Ellen Reynolds followed, around 1785. James and Ellen lived near their sister briefly then relocated to Knox County, TN.

James Reynolds had two sons John and Robert. Robert migrated to Illinois around 1800. John remained in Knox County, TN. John was often referred to as the Major Reynolds. Hugh Forgey was taxed in John Reynolds Militia company in 1806 .

John Reynolds had a son named Robert Bannon Reynolds who built the house Knollwood, pictured above. According to one of the Reynolds' researchers Robert Bannon visited James Reynolds Forgey in Surgoinsville at which time he shared the Reynolds family history? This is kind of odd because the Forgeys seemed to be acquainted with John Reynolds his father? It's strange they had not heard the family history before?

Palma Scheumack was likely a descendant of Robert Bannon Reynolds because she had a needle point of  Knollwood  in her home?

One Big Family

I had no idea how closely these families were associated with each other until reading their histories at Google Books. When I got the Archibald Fisher Probate records last year I noticed Robert Reynolds' had purchased some items from the estate sale. I figured he was probably related to Margaret Reynolds-Forgey. Now I know he was her nephew. John Beaird and his children developed close ties with Robert Reynolds and his children. Both men lived in Knox County, TN and migrated to southwestern Illinois. Since both the Beairds and Reynoldses were related to Hugh Forgey and Catherine Fisher I am hoping that those families may have some info about the Forgeys? The Reynolds family did write letters. I don't know whether the Beaird family wrote many letters? My plans are now to contact the Mesa Arizona FHC. Palma Scheumack had a collection of Reynolds family letters and may have used that FHC or deposited some of her research there? Hopefully I can get a lead on where her genealogy records may be?

I found two references today to the relationship between the Beaird family and the Reynolds family. According to Gov. John Reynolds a connexion of his father married John Beaird.

The reference I found in the History of St. Clair Illinois alludes to a kinship relationship. Palma Scheumack did not believe there was a blood relationship. Reynolds'cousins, i.e. Hugh Forgey's children, were cousins of John Beaird's children. Sort of a convoluted relationship :D.
"John Beaird was a prominent citizen of Knox County, Tennessee, which county he represented in the Tennessee Legislature. He was usually selected as leader when the community had trouble with the Indians. He was brave, energetic, and a successful Indian fighter. He came with his family to Illinois in 1801 and settled four miles from Kaskaskia. His son, Joseph, lived for some years in Cahokia, and was a member of the Legislature for several terms. The family was related to that of Governor Reynolds, and when John Reynolds, afterward Governor, started out to practice law, he made his home for a time with Joseph Beaird, at Cahokia. William A. Beaird, another son of John Beaird, naturally possessed a good mind, but obstinately refused to get an education or to receive any information thru the medium of books. However, by observation and experience, he did acquire much practical knowledtge. He never married. He served as Sheriff of St. Clair County from 1815 to 1830. He died in Belleville in 1843."

John Reynolds Biography

Great find at Google Books! It looks like the Reynolds family researchers drew heavily from this book. It's nice to find the source material they used :D! It was 97 degrees here today and a little hard to get my head around all of this today :)! A lot to think about. According to this account Robert Reynolds, Margaret Reynolds Forgey's nephew, was born in Co. Monaghon Ireland. His wife was from Dundulk Co. Louth. Creggan Co. Armagh would have been close to these places. This does support what was found in the 1766 Religious Census for Ireland; and Creggan as their place of origin. Hugh Reynolds must have migrated to Creggan. The Reynolds family has been in Co. Monaghon for 300 years according to a family member still living in that area.
Joseph Beaird is mentioned as a cousin of John Reynolds. Below is a snippet from Palma Scheumack's Reynolds Family Letters. I can sort of see now why Joseph and his brothers were thought of as cousins.

Where oh where did their Genealogy Records go?

Gov. John Reynolds St. Clair Illinois

Where?
William G. Livingstone, Lt. Commdr., US Navy, of Pasadena, CA, and Palma Scheumack of Pine Arizona both did extensive reseach on the Reynolds line. They also ran across info on my Forgey line. The information regarding Hugh Forgey and his wife Catherine Fisher came from their research. Unfortunately they researched before computers and access to the info they collected is difficult. They have both passed away, and I have no idea where they may have deposited their research?

I have been trying to track down more info about Palma Schemack on the internet. There is surprisingly little about her on the internet. Sometimes you can locate relatives of someone at US Search even if they are deceased. No relations were listed for her? Could find no obituary either. Don't know her maiden name? I guess it may have been Reynolds? I checked one the the local genealogy societies where she lived : http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~azngcgs/familyhistories.html 
There are some references to Reynolds genealogies but nothing with her name on them. I would love to see what she collected regarding the Forgeys. Need to track these records down somehow?  
Some of William G. Livingstone's research is presented at the Reynolds Family Association website: http://www.reynoldsfamily.org/line30/index.html . Unfortunately he does not list many sources.
Both the Reynolds Family (Hugh Forgey's mother was from this family) and the Fisher Family (Hugh Forgey's in-laws) migrated from Tennessee to southwestern Illinois. Hugh Forgey's cousin John Reynolds became Governor of Illinois in 1830 (see picture above). He was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1834 to 1837 and 1839 to 1843.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Sweets

I was definitely a sugar addict when I was  child! My suppliers generally brought truckloads of sweets right to the curb in front of my house. Namely the ice cream man and the Helms Bakery truck man. The trucks certainly moved slow in  front of my house :D. They knew a good customer when they saw one! Being an only child I had money to spend. I remember fondly the Pixy sticks, sheets of salt water taffy, wacky packs (pictured right), and candy necklaces. 

Strange Things Children Eat

I remember when I couldn't satisfy my pixy stick addiction with the real thing I would eat Jello Powder. That was against the rules in my house because it could turn into a messy sticky glue like substance when wet. I wonder if anyone was able to get it off the garage floor in our old house?

I also ate water softner salt at a neighbor's house. I still recall how it burned going down. I often wonder whether that did any permanent damage?

I also remember daring a little boy named Jason to drink a bottle of perfume :D. I did not think he actually would, but he did. Don't know how he felt later?

Book Sale Bible

About 25 years ago at a Whittier Public Library Book Sale I purchased a bible for 50 cents. I bought it because I was so moved by the entries of  the family births and deaths. Godfrey Engstrum died only 4 weeks after his birth at 2 am; very sad. There is no surname listed in the bible.  Now with the help of the internet I am able to learn more about the family who owned this bible :). The inside cover reads "To Victor from Mother 1880." Using the name Victor, the childrens' names and their place of residence I was able to find the family on the 1900 Census and discover their surname Engstrum.  I found a biographical sketch for the Lawrence Emmanuel listed above at rootsweb.com

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wytttp/history/bartlett2/l_e_engstrum.htm

I have also found Victor and his wife's tombstone picture at find-a-grave

Fun at the Cemetery...

Elizabeth Taylor's burial at Forest Lawn Glendale brought back a lot of memories for my mother and I. My mother's family, the Forgeys, basically lived next door to Forest Lawn in the 1930's. The cemetery was a source of entertainment for the family. My grandmother Forgey would take walks through the cemetery with her children. My grandmother Forgey loved the movies and occasionally they would spot a movie star visiting a grave or even see famous people attending a funeral.

My mother and her siblings often played at the cemetery and sometimes took flowers off the graves and gave them to my grandmother :D. They could be naughty! One of the most interesting stories is how they were locked in the cemetery when they stayed too long one evening. Sounds like the 5 Forgey children were having a jolly time stealing flowers etc. and forgot the time. When they discovered they got locked in they walked all over the cemetery looking for another way out. When it started getting dark they became frightened about bats possibly attacking them and ghosts coming out to the graves. My mother talked about how they started getting panicky and got their shoes stuck in the flower holders. Luckily my grandparents noticed their absence and contacted the cemetery attendant who searched for them. The group was very happy to see the attendant and they all piled into his truck. 

Picture Mystery and Future Book

I have been doing some picture research using the 1930 Census for Glendale California. The picture above is a favorite of mine even though I don't know who the person is. It's a photo of a neighbor of my Forgey Family when they lived on Acacia Street in Glendale California. After looking at the Census I've narrowed down her identity to two possible neighbor girls Dorris M. Wollard b. 1922 or Mary Wright? My mother told me that there was a blood stain on that porch where she is sitting. There was a rumor that it was stained when someone died there? They could not get the stain off.

I attended Lisa Alzo's webinar Life Stories: How to Write a Compelling Family History Narrative  . It was very good! I really enjoyed it! If I can just get one more generation back on the Forgey line I will definitely write a digital book :). Her advice about using national, local and personal history will create a great frame work for the book. Using a timeline and having a goal in mind will also help steer me in the right direction. I might start laying out a book, but wait until I nail down the final generation before publishing.

Interesting Find

Holston Territory Genealogical Society

I made this new find at google books. I have found a probate reference for a John Forgey on a Hawkins County TN Probate index in 1793. I wonder if the person referred to here as John Forges is the same person? Or is this transcription wrong and the person living adjacent to Hugh really Andrew Forgey? I need to locate the original deed. The lack of surviving records makes identification of John Forgey very difficult. There is only a reference to the probate the actual probate records no longer can be found. Who this John Forgey was and his relationship to the other Forgeys is a mystery? Definitely more research needs to be done in the deed records!

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Movies

I would have to say that Gosford Park ties with Gone with the Wind as number 1 favorite movies. I also enjoyed the Harry Potter movies, and old classics such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I Remember Mama. I never really enjoyed going to the movie theater to see a movie very much. I've always preferred the comfortable surroundings of home. My father wanted me to see his favorite childhood movie the Wizard Of OZ in a movie theater. He took me to the Star Movie Theater in La Puente in the 1970's, and I do remember enjoying that experience! My mother and her family went to that same theater to see movies in the 1940's and 1950's. Sadly it later became a XXX Theater.

The Star Theater La Puente

Identifying Possible Sources & Inspiration

I feel liked I've earned some fun reading time after that long research marathon :D. The embedded preview above is one of the books I am really enjoying! Laura Ingles Wilder and her books sparked my interest in history and family history. I am also reading The Appalachian Frontier.
I have been also thinking about possible future research. Some thoughts about possible sources. I didn't know that Knox County was formed from portions Greene County and Hawkins County, TN. I should check Greene County records.
I was also thinking I need to locate manuscript collections.
Biographies for neighboring families might contain source material.
More research in Court Records in both Randolph and Knox County, TN.


I am always looking for cousins who may have sources in their homes.
The TSLA has a manuscript collection http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/manuscripts/manu.htm have not found the Surname Forgey mentioned in any of the family collections.
More records collections in Tennessee: http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/aps/vc/vc-directoryacademic.pdf
The Draper papers are an important Tennessee source http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?SAB1=draper+manuscripts&BOOL1=as+a+phrase&FLD1=Keyword+Anywhere+%28GKEY%29&GRP1=AND+with+next+set&SAB2=&BOOL2=as+a+phrase&FLD2=Keyword+Anywhere+%28GKEY%29&GRP2=AND+with+next+set&SAB3=&BOOL3=as+a+phrase&FLD3=Keyword+Anywhere+%28GKEY%29&PID=5767&SEQ=20051127172912&CNT=25&HIST=1

Genealogy Marathon

Yesterday was the rainy Los Angeles Marathon. I feel like I have been on a genealogy marathon the last few months. After the holidays I plunged back into genealogy with full zeal. I joined the Second Life Genealogy community where I got many great tips and was inspired to make an extra effort to knock down my brickwalls.

My renewed zeal has paid off :D! I have made great progress on my brickwalls and met several goals this year already. Since receiving the sources from Scotland a couple of weeks ago I have put in many hours a day verifying these sources. It's been a real genealogy marathon. I met my goal regarding finding the source for the marriage of Hugh Forgey and Catherine Fisher (which was the will).

The Sassy Jane blogger posted some wonderful links to Chicago City Directories which helped me meet another goal. My Mason family did not appear on the 1910 Census for Chicago. I have been searching for them in that Census for years. I was able to find my great-grandfather Fred G. Mason in the City Directory for 1910. Last night I looked at the Census again using the address I found but still no luck. According to the Directory the family lived in a rear unit so they were likely missed for that reason. Sadly that was the only Census the entire family would have appeared  on. Fred Mason died of TB in 1917. I found his widow Helen listed in 1923. It lists her as widow of Fred.

This Just In....

The reason John Fisher could not act as executor for his father Archibald is he was "killed when stabbed in the back by Michael Dillngham in a dispute arising over a card game." He died on 20 Dec 1804 in Hopkinsville KY.

The Envelope Please...

When I finally got my hands on the envelope from the Randolph County Clerks office I RIPPED IT OPEN! It did read as I hoped that Catherine Forgey was the daughter of Archibald Fisher here is an excerpt:

However as I read on I became very confused again because a paragraph after the will stated that Archibald Fisher died intestate??? Didn't I just read the will :D? This was cleared up on the third page when the administrator John Beard stated the following "Archibald Fisher....appointed his son John Fisher Executor of the said will + the said John dying before the death of the said Arch the subscriber did not believe it necessary to prove the said will but having been lately informed that the said will aught to have been proved + letters of adminstration granted..." (can't make out the rest). So the will was later brought to the court and filed in the Deed book L.

The moral is there still may be a will even if the person was said to have died intestate.

Sorry Wrong Office

I originally contacted the wrong office for a copy of Archibald's Will.l I forgot to call them off the search, SORRY!

Anyway she agreed with me that the file in her office seems to point to NO Will. The 22 pages of documents which were filed in a box are difficult to interpret. They do use the term Executor which points to a Will? As the email states below there seems  to a reference to the absence of a Will?

I thought I was losing my mind when I missed the existence of a will :D.  It makes me feel better that the Clerk of the Court  was confused too :D. 

"To date I have found a will for Archibald Fisher who died Sept. 18, 1878.  I have found a file for an Archibald Fisher who likely died in 1805 but there is no will.  There is a Court document that seems to refer to the absence of a will.  I could provide that record to you.  There is a cost of $4.00 for the search of that year and a cost of $2.00 for the copies that would be needed (4 page document).  You can send a check of money order made payable to the Randolph County Circuit Clerk and I will forward the document to you."

Barb Brown

Clerk of the Court

HOPE TO GET A LETTER FROM THE CORRECT OFFICE SOON!!!!

Decisions and Discrepancies

Pondering some new facts that have come to light. Someone badly miscalutated the date that my great-grandmother Isis Browning-Forgey wrote the letter I transcribed below. They had 15 Nov 1907. I never noticed that before. I knew that Isis was born on 27 Nov 1869 according to her death Certificate. She said she was writing the letter the day before Thanksgiving and her birthday. I looked to see what day Thanksgiving fell on in 1907. It fell on the 28th. So it looks like I might have the wrong day of birth for her? I guess I should track down more sources for her birth date.

I did do some Patrick Mullen research. I am searching for a death record using the Civil Registration Index for Ireland at Familysearch.org. I thought there was just one possibility but actually there are 3 :(. One is for a Pat Mullin which is the way he sometimes signed his name.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Planning on doing some Patrick Mullen research today. I believe I may have found his death date on the familysearch  index for 1929? Both Patrick and Mary Mullen were alive in 1911, see census below. Hoping that the 1926 Census for Ireland is released soon :)!

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Illness and Injury

Written by my great grandmother Isis Browning-Forgey (pictured with her sister right, right)

Ewing, Jackson County Indiana Nov. 27 1907 (she died a few months later of TB)

"I am writing these few lines this beautiful morning to express my last wants and wishes as to who of my friends I wish to take possession of my remains after my Spirit has flown to a world unknown where the veil shall be lifted and what has been such mysteries in this world to us will be revealed and the mist shall be cleared away and we shall know as we are known. And our Dear Savior has told us in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may be also. Now I am going to tell the wish that is dearest to my heart of anything in this world is that some sweet day I may be able to stand on the banks of the New Jerusalem and clasp glad hands with each and everyone that is near and dear to me in this world. Husband and children, mother, sisters, brothers, neighbors and friends wherever they may be scattered over this great world of ours. I ask each and every one of you that have been mentioned in these lines where I have asked you as my last requests to see to my wishes when I am no more, for each and every one to ever be ready to speak a kind and cheering word to companion my children and put out a hand to check them if you see they are drifting away. Stop and ask them if they have forgotten all Mother's advice and teachings. Under the circumstances that came in contact with my short life here, I have done my best to make them know and understand that each of us has a soul to save and each of us has to save ourselves. Day before Thanksgiving and I am feeling weak and bad, had a bad night of it last night. Tomorrow will be my 38^th birthday, the last one I ever expect to see. The ones I have selected to get me ready for burial are Eunice Hudson, Florence Hughes, Mary Bell, Bell Bower. My clothes will all be ready except dress and slippers. I want a black robe, to not cost over $15.00 and black cloth slippers. My casket I want to be neat , but not too expensive. I prefer Mr. Zable as undertaker. I want to be taken to the Methodist church. As my pall bearers I want Rose Jackson, Addie Parker, Laura Braden, Ella Mann, Rose Myers,and Laura Rotert. For ushers I want Sherman Jackson and Sam Braden. I want Charlie Tinch to play the organ. I want him to select his own choir and songs. I want all my near relatives and friend notified. I don't want to be put away too quick or kept too long. I want Alice Braden to stay with Inez every bit she possibly can and cheer her up so she won't feel so lonesome.

Tell them all not to grieve for me unnecessarily. I would rather have Brother Smith than any minister I know of, but if it is not convenient to get him, the Methodist preacher at Freetown will do. I would not like to be buried in the new Freetown cemetery. I would much rather be put in the old one, although if they want to put Mona there they may lay me beside her. The chapter I want read is the 2^nd chapter of First Corinthians."

What other records are available?

I was able to locate another bit of info which was listed on group sheet Archibald's daughter's grave Mary Fisher-Steele. It says that she was born 61 years and five months before her death on 18 May 1819. She is older than I estimated her sister Catherine Fisher-Forgey to be.

I have been looking for more info on available records for Tennessee. I have found this outline to be the best so far http://jefferson.tngenealogy.net/research-aids/56-research-guidance/547-research-in-early-tennessee-records-by-prentiss-price . If anyone has an outline with more resources please let me know? 

1. I have looked at New Providence Presbyterian Church records for Hawkins County, TN (which Brian French transcribed)

2. Court minutes for both Knox County and Hawkins County.

3. Land records for both Hawkins and Knox.

4. Marriage Records for all of Tennessee

5. Cemetery Records available on internet for all of Tennesseee

6. The Newspaper the Knoxville Gazette

7. Partial Taxlists Knox and Hawkins Counties

8. Published Reynold Family Letters and the writings of Hugh Forgey Crawford (Forgey was his middle-name; transcribed by Kenneth Edmondson)