Asenith Moon - Sevier County Deeds, 1846

Sevier County Deed Book H:  107-109 (excerpt)

"This indenture made and executed this 17th day of September 1846 by and between Tunis Scott and his wife Asenith Scott (lately Asenith Moon late widow of William Moon deceased) of the first part and Stewart O. Dickey Trustee of the second part and Pinkney H. Toomey of the third part all of the County of Sevier and State of Tennessee.  Witnesseth that the said Tunis Scott and his wife Asenith aforesaid for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar in hand to us paid by the said Stewart O. Dickey Trustee the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, hath given granted, bargained and sold and by these presents doth bargain and sell unto the said Dickey Trustee as aforesaid his heirs and assign the following undivided dower in the land of William Moon deceased which the said Tunis Scott by his wife Asenith Scott (late widow of the said William Moon deceased) are possessed of in the following lands to wit -"

Asenith Moon was the widow of William Moon (abt 1800-abt 1846) and the mother of William Mitchell Moon (1826 - 1893) of Sevier County, TN.

World War I draft registration for Alfred Lee Haynes

World War I draft card for Alfred Lee Haynes

Headstone of Columbus and Louisa Leatherwood

Union Grove Cemetery
Sevier County, TN

Columbus Leatherwood is the son of John Leatherwood and Hannah Flinn.  He married Louisa C. Bird.

headstone of John and Catherine Leatherwood

Union Grove Cemetery
Sevier County, TN

John Leatherwood is the son of John Leatherwood and Hannah Flinn.  He married Catherine Trotter.

John Leatherwood family circa 1910

Millie Stacy Ford headstone

Aunt Millie next to her grandmother's headstone

Millie Stacy Ford
April 16, 1901 - June 8, 1945
cemetery in Weber City, VA

Clara Stacy headstone

cemetery in Weber City, VA

Clara Stacy
Feb 11, 1883 - Jan 21, 1959

born Clara Lee Brickey
married Orbin Stacy around 1900

Milton C. Smith

Milton Charles Smith
1901-1974
Chilton County, Alabama

married Alice Inez Higgins

Smiths and Higgins about 1930

From left to right:
Joe FrankHiggins
Joe Higgins holding Sims
Grace Higgins
Annie Cordelia Smith in front of Alice Higgins Smith
Annie White Higgins
Frances Smith in front of Benjamin Franklin Higgins
Robert Flem Higgins Jr.in front of Mayme Smith
Flem Higgins

Alice Higgins Smith

Alice Inez Higgins

Alice Inez Higgins
born July 24, 1900
died June 24, 1942 in Clanton, Alabama
married Milton Smith April 3, 1921

Millie Stacy Ford family

This is a picture of the William H. Brickey family taken around 1905-1906 in Scott County, VA. I believe the back row standing from left to right are the children (and spouses) of William Brickey and his wife Nan Stone Brickey: Laura Brickey Flannery and her husband Charles Flannery, Orb Stacy and his wife Clara Brickey Stacy, James, Charlie and Pat Brickey (but not sure what order). I believe the three children on the left are John (sitting), Sarah and Mollie Brickey. These are all the children (and two spouses) of William H. Brickey and Nan Stone Brickey.
I have a separate picture of just the two little girls Molly and Millie.
I am not sure who the woman sitting between the two little girls is. Millie Stacy (Ford) is labeled. She is the daughter of Orb and Clara Stacy. I believe the woman sitting holding a baby is Nan Stone Brickey. I believe the man sitting holding a baby is William Henry Brickey. One of the babies is probably William Stacy, son of Orb and Clara. I am not sure who the other baby is, who the young boy standing is, or who the old man on the far right is.
William H. Brickey (abt 1862- 1942) is the son of Patterson Brickey and Nancy Duncan. Patterson Brickey died in 1862 in the Civil War. Nancy remarries to Bluford Southers.
Nan Stone Brickey (abt 1863- 1942) is the daughter of John Stone and Amanda Horton. William Brickey is in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 Scott Co., VA census.
Orb Stacy and Clara Brickey are in the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 Scott Co., VA census.
The labeled girl, Millie Stacy Ford (abt 1901 - 1945) , is my husband’s great grandmother. Any help identifying the people in the picture is appreciated!
This picture is also posted on the Scott County Virginia, Faces and Places website.

Alcie and Alice Neal in the 1930s

My mother and her twin sister in matching dresses.

Alfred Brasuell in WWI

Alfred Brasuell (1849-1916), center, served in WWI Texas Co. D, 143 Infantry, 36th Division.

Civil War Families of Tennessee

The Will of Cornelius Patterson, page 3

The Will of Cornelius Patterson, page 2

Will of Cornelius Patterson, page 1

Cornelius Patterson was born about 1803 and died about 1875.

The Will of Cornelius Patterson directs that his body be buried at Cummings Chapel. Cummings Chapel is in Sevierville, TN.

The will names his wife Violet; his sons George, James, Carson, and McCajah; his daughters Rebecca, Mahaley, Hannah, Nancy,and Martha; and his grandsons Cornelius Bensen, Willis Bensen, Mary Francis Patterson, Edney Jane Patterson, and Violet Patterson.

Cornelius Patterson married Violet Fain. Mahala Patterson married William Mitchel Moon.

Lee and Susie Haynes

Alfred Lee Haynes and his second wife, Susie Simpson. Alfred Lee is the brother of Mattie Haynes Tillery. He was born October 21, 1877 and died September 24, 1946.

He is found in the 1930 Knox Co., TN census with his wife Susie and her father, Leon Simpson.
He is found in the 1920 Knox Co., TN census with his children Leona, Ernest, and Fred. Also listed is his sister Mattie A. Tillery and his niece Bessie Tillery.

He is found in the 1910 Knox Co., TN census with his first wife Bertie and their children Leona, Ernest and Fred.

He is found in the 1900 Anderson Co., TN census with his wife Leathry B.

Sarah Elizabeth Matlock Haynes

Head stone of Sarah Elizabeth Matlock Haynes in the Third Creek Cemetery, Knoxville, TN.
Wife of J.F. Haynes. Married January 10, 1873. April 2, 1852 - July 9, 1905.

The search for the parents of Mattie Haynes

Mattie Ann, daughter of JF and SE Haynes, October 1, 1880 - January 8, 1923
Third Creek Cemetery in Knoxville, TN


I believe this is the headstone for my husband's great great grandmother. Mattie Haynes married Samuel R. Tillery sometime between 1900 and 1903. Their daughter Bessie Mae Tillery was born August 20, 1903.

Affidavit of George M. Blazer 1897

This affidavit was found in the civil war pension records of William Mitchel Moon. It was written by George Blazer who served in Co. M of the 2nd Tn Cavalry. From reading this affidavit I learned that George M. Blazer and William M. Moon were brothers-in-law. He states in the affidavit that they married sisters by the name of Patterson and lived about 4 or 5 miles apart.

US Genweb archives

Found this info in the US GENWEB archives about the daughter of John and Hannah Flinn Leatherwood.

"The next son of Levi and Nancy was Samuel Houston Roberts carrying part
of his Uncle Houston's name in early life married Mary Letherwood
(Leatherwood) a daughter of John Sr. and Hannah Leatherwood with whom he
lived until her death in the year (?)."

http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/sevier/history/letters/roberts06.txt

Christmas on the Side of the Road, 1936

Christmas on the Side of the Road, by my mother, Alcie Neal McGown

When Alice and I were six years old, my father left us and remarried and had four more children (one later died). My father was forty-two and his new bride was 14 years old. After dad left, my brothers became our protectors. Mother worked hard to keep us all together.
One night in December about 1936, we were traveling in the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. (We were always traveling somewhere.) We stopped on the side of the road and we all slept sitting up in the car, since it was too cold to sleep outside on the ground as we usually did. During the night I had to get out to use the “bathroom”; and when I tried to get back in the car the girls had all scooted together and filled in my space so that I could not get back in. So, I spent the rest of the night on the floor board on their feet. I was very uncomfortable.
The next morning we drove into the next town (I don’t remember which one), and got us a cabin in what was then known as a tourist court. They had covered carports in between each cabin to park your car in; but we hung a tarp over the front and that was where the boys slept.
The next day while my brothers went looking for work and my mom and older sisters were readying the cabin, my twin sister and I went exploring around the camp. We noticed that every child had at least one new toy. When we asked them where they got their new toys, they told us that Santa Claus had brought them. And then someone said, “Didn’t you know this is Christmas?” We were shocked. When we ran back and asked Mother about it she said, “I guess Santa couldn’t find us on the side of the road.”
When my six children were small and complained about not getting enough presents for Christmas, I would tell them this story about the Christmas when Santa couldn’t find us because we were sleeping on the side of the road.

My Mother's Stories

My mother has started writing stories she remembers from her childhood. Here is the first.


How many of you have read the book, The Grapes of Wrath? Well, if you did, you know the story of my life until I was fifteen years old. My parents were living in Paris, Texas, which is located in northeast Texas. In 1926 when their sixth child was born, my father lost his job. He was a cabinet maker. For the next three years he worked odd jobs. Then in 1928 he did what thousands of dirt farmers were doing. He sold everything he had, piled his family and his few personal belongings on a truck and headed for California. Daddy never made it to California. But some of us did.
They made it as far as west Texas when mother learned she was pregnant with her seventh child. So they headed back for Paris and on September 29, 1930 her seventh and eighth children were born, my twin sister and me. We were delivered by a midwife.
When we were a few weeks old and mother was able to travel, we took off again. Mother washed diapers in roadside ditched creeks and any place she could find that had a little water. The next two younger sisters babysat while mother helped the others work in the fields. Although sometimes she put us on her cotton sack and pulled us along wither her.
When my twin sister and I were about a year old, a terrible thing happened. We were living in McAllen Texas in south Texas, in a sharecropper’s house, working the sharecropper’s fields. On this particular day Mother had stayed home to wash clothes. The four younger children were with her. She boiled her clothes in a big iron pot and when she finished she took the water and scrubbed the floors and also the outdoor toilet. And, she always turned the old iron pot down over the coals so the children couldn’t get into them. While she scrubbed the floors she put the babies on a pallet out under a tree for a nap. (We were called “the babies” until we were married.) The other two girls, who were about five and seven at the time, got bored playing paper dolls and went out and moved the wash pot and with broom straws were making fire wands. They played there for awhile but they soon tired of that and left, but they forgot to put the wash pot back over the coals.
Meanwhile, the babies woke up from their nap and sent exploring. About that time, my mother looked out the window to check on us and discovered us gone. She said she came out of the house just in time to see me step into the coals, and before she could get to me I had fallen into them. She pulled me out and ran out into the fields to find my father. The only transportation we had was our old truck and it was full of cotton. But we made it into town and found the nearest doctor who did the best he could for me and sent me home. We couldn’t afford a hospital. I lost four toes and had severe burns on both hands and feet. Mother said it was at this time she found the Lord. She prayed every day for me out in the old outdoor toilet. It took almost a year for me to recover and learn to walk again.

Genealogy roadblock

I've hit a genealogy roadblock, one of those unanswerable questions, at least so far. It's not a direct descendant, a side branch. But, still it is frustrating. The photo above is of Mack Kerr and his son Mack, Jr. They are part of my roadblock.

My husband's great great grandfather, John Moon, had three sisters: Eda Jane, Lillie and Laura. Eda Jane and Lillie married brothers Mack and Elijah Kerr. My roadblock is finding the father of Mack and Elijah Kerr.

In the 1880 Sevier County, TN census, Mack is 6 years old and Elijah is 1 year old. They are living with their single mother, Nancy, age 21 and their widow grandmother Sallie Kear, age 54. Nancy is noted as a daughter of Sallie, not a daughter-in-law. The census notes Nancy as single, not divorced or widowed.

In the 1870 Sevier County, TN census there is a Daniel and Sallie Kerr with two daughters, Minerva, age 18, and Nancy, age 16. The ages are not 10 years different, but they seem to be the same people.

In December of 1880 Nancy Kerr marries William Gann and has other children.

I found WW I draft registration for both Mack and Elijah which gives their birth dates. However, neither one actually served in the war. My next step is to try and locate a birth or death record for Mack or Elijah which might note who their parents are. But so far, no luck.

Ruth Speer and Vanderfordfamily.com

While researching the Ford family, I found this website: www.vanderfordfamily.com

My husband is a descendant of Ruth Speer (b. 1809, Scott Co., VA), daughter of Joshua Speer and Ruth Vandever/Vanderford. This website tracks the Vanderford family backwards to a Michael Paul Vanderford supposedly born around 1610 in Flanders, who lived on Manhattan Island. It says that he helped to build the wall for which Wall St. gets its name! Very cool!

William P. Ford family

The William P. and Betty Ford family circa 1910

From left to right standing: Lela, James Dudley, Stella, Ellis
From left to right sitting: William P. Ford, Betty Russell Ford
The children in front are Bonnie and Holly, though I'm not sure which is which. My husband's grandfather, who is the son of James Dudley, says that Bonnie is standing and Holly is in his mother's lap. Though census records say that Holly is older than Bonnie. So, I'm kind of confused.

Four Generations: Stone, Brickey, Stacy, Ford

This photo contains four generations. From left to right are Nan Stone Brickey, Clara Lee Brickey Stacy, Mildred Stacy Ford, and Ralph Ford.

Nancy (Nan) Stone was born about 1863 and is first listed in the 1870 Scott County VA census at age 7. She is is the daughter of John M. Stone and Amanda Horton. Nan Stone married William H. Brickey about 1881. She died in 1942.

Clara Lee Brickey, the daughter of William and Nan Brickey, was born about 1883. She is first listed in the 1900 Scott County VA census at the age of 17. Clara Brickey married Orbin Stacy around 1900. She died in 1949.

Mildred (Millie) Stacy is the daughter of Orb and Clara Stacy. She was born about 1901. She first appears in the 1910 Scott County VA census at the age of 9, living with her grandparents William and Nancy Brickey. Millie Stacy married James Dudley Ford about 1919. She died in 1945.

Ralph Ford is the son of Dud and Millie Ford.

Benjamin and Annie Higgins

Over the weekend I was able to scan some pictures from my mother-in-law's family. This is one of the older pictures. This is Benjamin Franklin Higgins and his wife Annie Mizelle White Higgins. Benjamin was born Oct 8, 1872 in Alabama and died April 23 1960. Annie White Higgins was born February 20, 1880 and died August 1, 1968 in Alabama.

These are my husbands great great grandparents on his mother's mother's side.

Hannah Flinn Leatherwood James

This is the headstone of Hannah Flinn Leatherwood James from Union Grove Cemetery in Sevier Co., TN. Hannah James is in one of the earlier pictures I posted of the John Leatherwood family. John Leatherwood was her son by her first husband, John Leatherwood Sr. Exactly how and why her husband died is a mystery. And where he is buried is unknown. Though the theories seem to abound.

I came across another "cousin" last week, on the Leatherwood side. He was gracious enough to take this picture and email it to me. After corresponding with him by email, I wondered if we will ever know what really happened to Hannah's husband.

Going through a relatives old notes I was given, I found written that John had died during the civil war. Then, I found notes where someone claimed he had been shot and was buried in Cocke County, TN. My new found cousin had heard that John had been scalped by Indians! Some notes said he died when his son John was about 3 years old. Some one else said that he died when his wife was pregnant with their son. I called my husband's great aunt to see what she knew about it. According to her sources, who she claimed knew the true story, John was killed by a neighbor who suspected he was having an affair with his wife! She also said he was buried in NC.

Of course, genealogy without documentation is just an entertaining story. Unless we can find proof, I guess we will never know.

William Mitchell Moon

Pictures of headstones are helpful in genealogy research, but not as personal as a picture of the actual person. I hope one day to discover a picture of William Mitchell Moon. William Moon is the father of John C. Moon. That makes him my husband's great great great grandfather. He was born February 22, 1826 and died April 29, 1893. He is buried in Providence Cemetery in Sevierville, TN.

William Moon was married to Mahala Patterson who is also buried in Providence Cemetery. Mahala Patterson was born January 28, 1828 and died June 30, 1907.

William Moon was a Corporal in Co. I of the 2nd TN Cavalry, USA during the Civil War. He applied for a pension due to disability after the war. His son John's affidavit in the pension records states, "I am a son of the said Mahala and William M Moon and was something like 9 or 10 years old when my father enlisted in the war of the Rebellion. I well remember when he went into the war in the fall of 1862 and especially do I remember of his return from the war in 1865. I remember when he came home he complained of his legs hurting him, he also had a dry hacking cough and complained of his breast and complained of headache.... I lived with my father on the farm and in the house with him until I was married. Then I lived on the same farm and close to him until his death. I saw him almost daily now from the time he came home until his death. I don't know what was the immediate cause of his death. I was present and with him almost daily from the time he was taken down until his death. "

John C. Moon

My husband said I needed to post more about his family. The problem, I told him, is a lack of pictures. Here is the oldest picture I have from the Moon branch of the family. The man sitting and wearing the hat is my husband's great great grandfather, John C. Moon. Next to him is his wife Dialtha Caroline Shrader Moon. Behind them are their children Eda Jane, Lillie, Walter Pless, and Laura. To be honest, I'm not sure what order the ladies are in. I just know that Walter had three sisters. Walter is my husband's great grandfather. This picture was most likely taken somewhere in Sevier County, Tennessee in the 1920s.

John C. Moon was born December 31, 1854 and died November 26, 1941. Dialtha Moon was born October 7, 1853 and died March 31, 1933. The picture above is of their headstone that is located in Providence Church Cemetery in Sevierville, Tennessee. John and his wife were buried in the original Providence Cemetery that today is underneath Douglas Lake. They were reinterred during the construction period.

Robert Brasuell home and family

This is a picture of my grandmother's family. This picture was taken in the early 1900s in Texas. The man standing is my great grandfather Robert Brasuell. The woman is my grandmother's stepmother Helen Jumper Brasuell. The men on the horses are my grandmother's brothers: Alfred and Homer Brasuell. The girls standing are Minnie and Hattie Jumper, and my grandmother, Nancy Elizabeth Brasuell. The baby in the chair is Alice Brasuell.

Mary Ellen Dunnigan

This is my great grandmother, Mary Ellen Dunnigan.
She was born in February of 1860 in Missouri and died February 14, 1905 in Roxton, Texas.
She married Robert Brasuell about 1894.
My grandmother always told us her mother had died giving birth. Last summer, when my sisters and I went to Paris, Texas, we found our great grandmother's death certificate. She did die from childbirth. We also found the death certificate of the baby girl who died about 20 days later. The coroner reported on the death certificate that he never actually saw the baby, only heard that it had died. The baby never saw a doctor.

John C. Neal and Nancy E. Brasuell

These are my grandparents: John Cecil Neal and Nancy Elisabeth Brasuell.

John C. Neal was born April 21, 1891 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and died April 5, 1965 in Austin, Texas. I never met him. He died before I was born. But from what I've been told, he was not held in high regard by those who knew him best.

Nancy Brasuell Neal was born September 28, 1896 in Fort Smith, Arkansas and died June 14, 1990, in Lukfin, Texas. I only remember her being old and feeble. I visited her about once a year - always at a nursing home. But my older sisters have wonderful memories of her.

This picture was taken about the time they were married, January 28, 1912 in Brookston, Texas. Last summer, my sisters and I went to Paris, Texas and found my grandparents original marriage license - the copy they could have picked up at the courthouse after they were married, but never did. My grandparents divorced, later remarried, and then divorced again.

Mack and Christina Trotter

I recently visited with my husband's great aunt and she gave me some wonderful pictures! Here is another. She discovered this picture among her late husband's belongings and had it restored. This is the family of Mack and Christina Trotter. This picture was taken around 1895.

In this picture are my husband's great grandmother (Lillie Leatherwood), great great grandparents (John and Catherine Leatherwood), and his great great great grandparents (Mack and Christina Trotter).

C.M. and Mary Hardin

Ok - This one is even better! I love the expressions. Caffrey and Mary (Davis) Hardin are also my husband's g-g-g-g-grandparents. Caffrey Hardin was born November 25, 1808 and died May 14, 1889. Mary Davis was born January 20, 1813 and died July 5, 1904. They were married on February 13, 1840. My husband is descended from their daughter Christina Elizabeth who married Mack Trotter, son of J. T. Trotter.

J. T. and Barsheba Trotter

I love this picture! It was recently sent to me by a great aunt who has been a wonderful help in my research. This picture is of J.T. and Barsheba Trotter.

James Trimble Trotter was born April 28, 1813
in Sevier County, TN and died November 26, 1886. Barsheba Stover Trotter was born April 12, 1811 and died May 7, 1889. They were married on September 10, 1834.

J. T. and Barsheba Trotter are my husband's g-g-g-g-grandparents.

Amy's Genealogy Blog

Welcome to my genealogy blog!

I will be posting pictures and information I find as I research my family tree. I am primarily researching the surnames Moon, Ford, McGown and Neal, along with related branches.