On This Day: November 29

1915: My mother, Beaulah Belle “Bea” Yawman, was born in Walton Township, Labette County, Kansas, the eighth and youngest child of William and Myrtle (Snider) Yawman.

Mom was twice married. In 1935 she married Archie E. Sherell in Johnson County, Kansas; they had three children, Deanna Dale, Arnold Lee, and Archie Anthony Neil. Mom and Archie were divorced in 1945 in Los Angeles County, California.

In January 1953, she married my father J. J. “Jack” Spurlock in Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona. With their marriage, my mother added another daughter to her family: Gloria Jane, my dad’s daughter from his previous marriage. Two children were born to Bea and Jack: me and my sister Jennifer.

Although Mom worked outside the home from time to time, she was first and foremost a mother. Here is one of my favorite photos of her:

Grandson Ron, great-granddaughter Christen, Mom, great-
granddaughter Rachel, daughter Jennifer - circa 1997.
Digital image. Original held by Cheryl Chaney Beaver, [ADDRESS
WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lone Grove, OK, 2011.

She died on 5 June 1999 in Bakersfield, Kern County, California, after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. It was her wish that her body be donated for medical research. She is memorialized on the gravestone at my dad's grave in Lone Grove Cemetery, Lone Grove, Carter County, Oklahoma.

Last year I wrote the post Remembering Mama. I wish that my grandchildren had had the opportunity to know their great-grandmother personally, but they have grown to know her through our sharing our memories of this special woman.


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: November 27

1768: Samuel Hall, my 6^th great-grandfather, gave consent for a license to be issued for the marriage of his daughter Phoebe to my 5^th great-grandfather Isaac Eaton. Here is my transcription along with a copy of his consent:

“Mr. John froohek liveing in North Carolina in Roan ^County

I send these few lines to you to testify you

that I am satisfied that the [?] hear of

Isaac Eaton shall have my dater faby

hall to wed [?] that [?] and if you will

[?] grant him lisons for the same you will

a blige [oblige] me Samuel Hall

  Deted [Dated] November 27 1768”

A typed transcript of the Rowan County, North Carolina, marriage bonds appears below:

These documents provide the documentation for the typed transcript:

[Source: North Carolina, Rowan County, marriage records; "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979" digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 Nov 2011).]

No actual marriage record for Isaac and Phoebe has been found.

Isaac and Phoebe (Hall) Eaton were the parents of six known sons: William, Abraham (from whom I descend), Samuel, Daniel, Isaac, Jr., and Joseph. I do not know at this time whether they had any daughters.



© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: November 15

1905: My paternal grandparents, Jasper Jackson Spurlock and Mamie Olive Martindale, were married, probably in Cushing, Nacogdoches County, Texas. [Source: Spurlock, Mamie Olive (Martindale), Scrapbook, ca 1950-1970; privately held by Cheryl Anne (Chaney) Beaver, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2010. Photocopy in possession of Denise Spurlock.]

For several years I have been searching for additional documentation of this marriage. I have searched the Nacogdoches County marriage records on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the original marriage book at the Nacogdoches County Courthouse. Both the bride and groom indexes indicate the marriage record is on page 463 as seen on the following images (near the bottom of each page):

Nacogdoches County, Texas, Marriage Book I,
Groom Index; FHL microfilm 1003584.

Nacogdoches County, Texas, Marriage Book I,
Reverse Index (Brides); FHL microfilm 1003584.

However, page 463 contains the marriage records of two other couples:

Nacogdoches County, Texas, Marriage Book I, 463; FHL microfilm 1003584.

I have searched both the microfilm and the marriage book page-by-page and could not locate the Spurlock-Martindale record. The only scenario I can come up with to explain the missing record is the document was loose and inserted at page 463 in accordance with the date of the marriage, and, when the marriage book was microfilmed, the certificate was removed and misplaced.

I also have a copy of an undated marriage announcement clipped from an unknown newspaper. On a recent visit to the Dallas Public Library, I searched microfilmed copies of the Nacogdoches, Texas, Daily Sentinel, for the period from November 15 to December 1, 1905, and did not find the original. Following is a copy of the article: 

Someday I hope to find either the marriage record or the newspaper in which the announcement appeared. Or perhaps some other documentation will surface to corroborate the information I have.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: November 10

1825: My paternal 2^nd great-grandmother Sherreldia Jane Hammontree, the daughter of Hugh Hammontree and Rachel Caskey, was born in Tennessee. She died on 31 December 1896 and is buried at Hurricane Cemetery in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. [Source: Kelly Christian Priestly, "Hurricane Cemetery, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana," transcription, USGenWeb Archives (http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/claiborne/cemeteries/hurrican.txt : accessed 21 Apr 2010), entry for Sherreldia J. Owens.]

Digital image. Original held by Denise Spurlock,
[ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lomita,
California, 2007.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: November 5

1605: My maternal 9^th great-grandfather, Rev. Thomas Shepard, was born in England. He married Margaret Touteville. He suffered religious persecution in England and came to America on the Defiance arriving in Boston on 3 October 1635. He died 25 August 1649. [Source: Massachusetts Historical Society: New England Historic Genealogical Society, "Colonial Collegians: Biographies of Those Who Attended American Colleges before the War for Independence," database, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org), Thomas Shepard, Harvard (1653).]


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: November 4

1644: John Cary and Elizabeth Godfrey, my maternal 8^th great-grandparents, were married in Bridgewater, (now) Plymouth County, Massachusetts. They had twelve children: John, Francis (my ancestor), Elizabeth, James, Mary, Jonathan, David, Hannah, Joseph, Rebecca, Sarah, and Mehitabel. [Source: Seth C. Cary, John Cary the Plymouth Pilgrim (Boston, Massachusetts: Seth C. Cary, 1911), 62.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: November 2

1796: My maternal 4^th great grandparents, Gabriel Parsons and Sarah Justice, were married in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Gabriel and Sarah had five known children: Simeon, George (from whom I descend), Melinda, Richard, and Gabriel. [Sources: (1) "Virginia Marriages to 1800," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Feb 2010), entry for marriage of Gabriel Parsons and Sarah Justice.]



© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: October 25

1807: My paternal 2^nd great-grandfather Ransom Spurlock was born probably in Washington County, Georgia. His parents are unknown. He died 2 October 1896 and is buried at Hurricane Cemetery, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.

Ransom Spurlock, Oct. 25, 1807 - Oct. 2, 1896,
Hurricane Cemetery, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.
Digital image by Denise Spurlock, 2009.

The tombstone originally placed at Ransom's grave was badly damaged when I visited there in 2000. I believe it was replaced by my cousin, Ernest Spurlock, a year or two later.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: October 22

1616: Anne Bishop, my maternal 8^th great-grandmother was baptized in Bridport, Dorsetshire, England. The daughter of Thomas and Avis (Abbott) Bishop. her birthdate is unknown. She died before 4 August 1673. [Source: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1630, Volumes I-III (N.p.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society 2010), II: 974.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: October 19

1609: My maternal 9^th great-grandparents Henry Adams and Edith Squire were married in the parish of Charlton Mackrell in Somersetshire, England. The U.S. presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams are also descended from this couple.  [Source: D. L. Jacobus, "The American Genealogist," database, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 2 May 2011), "A Hitherto Unnoted Descendant of Henry Adams of Braintree"; 53:18.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day - October 18

1842: Michael Yawman, one of my maternal great-grandfathers, was born in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. He was the son of immigrant Andrew Yawman and his wife Catherine (Sitterly) Yawman. Although his death certificate and tombstone indicate he was born on February 22, 1844, other sources point to an 1842 birth year. [Source: findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 Oct 2011), Michael Heman Yawman, Memorial# 21259594, created by Gary A. Yawman, 30 Aug 2007.]

M. Yawman, Feb.22, 1844  -  Jan 8, 1913,
Oakwood Cemetery, Parsons, Kansas
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Yawman.

He died 8 January 1913 and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery, in Parsons, Labette County, Kansas. [Source: Labette County, Kansas, death certificate no. 13 (1913), Mike Yawman; Kansas Board of Health, Topeka.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: October 15

1622: Sarah Chandler, one of my 8^th great-grandmothers, was born in Leyden, Holland. She was the daughter of Roger and Isabella (Chilton) Chandler and the granddaughter of Mayflower passenger James Chilton. She died 27 October 1675 in West Bridgewater, now Plymouth County, Massachusetts. [Source: Rev. Darrell and Sallyann Joiner, (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.]


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: October 6

1605: My 8^th great-grandfather, William Ames, the son of John and Cyprian (Brown) Ames was born in Bruton, Somersetshire, England. A farmer and blacksmith, his wife was Hannah (maiden name unknown). He died 1 January 1652/53 in Braintree, now Norfolk County, Massachusetts. 


[Sources: (1) New England Historic Genealogical Society, "Braintree, MA: Vital Records, 1643-1793," database, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 29 Sep 2011), William Ames; Transcription by Waldo C. Sprague from the original records held at the Randolph Town Hall; (2) Rev. Darrell and Sallyann Joiner (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.]© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: October 3

1550: William Cary, one of my maternal 10^th great-grandfathers, was born, the son of Richard and Anne (maiden name unknown) Cary. He married Alice Goodall. He was sheriff of Bristol, Somersetshire, England, in 1599 and mayor in 1611. William died 1 March 1631/32. 


[Sources: (1) Henry Grosvenor Cary, The Cary Family in England (Boston, Massachusetts: Rev. Seth Cooley Cary, 1906), 92; Open Library ID OL23284285M; (2) Rev. Darrell and Sallyann Joiner (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.]


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: September 28

1677:    Hannah Gilbert, one of my maternal 7th great-grandmothers, was born in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Ensign Thomas and Anne/Hannah (Blake) Gilbert. She married William Phillips in about 1696 and died 6 June 1705 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts. [Sources: (1) New England Historic Genealogical Society, editor, Vital Records of Taunton, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume 1 - Births online database, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : downloaded 19 Aug 2011), 176. (2) findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 Sep 2011), Hannah Gilbert Phillips, Memorial #20994576, created by Nareen, et al, 17 Aug 2007.]

Photo by Chris and Susanne Eliasen.
findagrave.com,  Memorial #20994576, 
Hannah Gilbert Phillips,
 created by Nareen, et al, 17 Aug 2007. 

]© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: September 27

1713:   One of my maternal 5th great-grandmothers, Mary Jane Holman, the daughter of Col. John and Ann (Quincy) Holman, was born. She married Ezra Cary on 8 February 1736/1737 and died in 1775. [Sources: (1) Alfred Lyman Holman, "John Holman of Dorchester, Mass., and his Descendants," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, July 1918, 201; American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 1 Jun 2011); (2) Joiner, Rev. Darrell and Sallyann (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: September 26

1884: My paternal grandmother Mamie Olive Martindale, the daughter of Ambrose B. and Sarah (Forshee) Martindale, was born in Colmanville, Carter County, Missouri. She died 7 January 1971, in Houston, Harris County, Texas. [Source: Harris County, Texas, death certificate no. 03613 (1971), Mamie Olive Spurlock; Texas Department of Health, Austin.]

Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock with granddaughter
Gloria Jane Spurlock and son J. J. Spurlock, c1953.
Digital image. Original held by Karen Danielsen,
[ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lone Grove, OK, 2011.

1897: William Lee Yawman and Myrtle Arminta Snider, my maternal grandparents were married in Lincoln, Neosho County, Kansas. They had eight children:: Joyce Opal, Eunice Evangeline (Eva), Hazel Agnes, Juanita Marie, Myrtle Gertrude (Jean), Clarence Leonard, William Howard, and my mother Beaulah Belle. [Source: Neosho, Kansas, marriage certificate no. (no number) (1897), Yawman-Snyder; Neosho County Courthouse, Erie.]

William Lee and Myrtle Arminta (Snider) Yawman, 1897.
Digital image. Original held by Denise Spurlock,
[ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lomita, CA, 2011.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: September 24

1876: My paternal grandfather, Jasper Jackson Spurlock, son of John F. and Dialtha (Owens) Spurlock, was born in Hurricane, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. He died on April 18, 1940, in Los Angeles, California. [Source: Los Angeles, California, death certificate no. 19-442238 (1940), Jasper Jackson Spurlock; County of Los Angeles, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.]

J. J. Spurlock, circa 1915
Digital image; original held by Bettye Lou Gleason,
[ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Bossier City, LA, 2000.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: September 17

1577: John Gilbert, one of my maternal 10^th great-grandfathers, was born to Giles and Joan (Pearce) Gilbert. He died about 1654. [Source: Joiner, Rev. Darrell and Sallyann (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: September 15

1830: James B. Forshee and Sarah A. Parker, my paternal 2^nd great-grandparents, were married, probably in Monroe County, Tennessee. Their marriage record has not been found. James and Sarah had seven children: George, Richard, John, Benjamin, Margaret, Joseph, and Sarah (my great-grandmother).

[Source: Sarah Forshee, certificate #231457, Declaration for Mother's Army Pension, filed 26 Jul 1880; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War and Later Navy Veterans, ('Navy Widows' Certificates'), 1861-1910; Record Group M1279; National Archives, Washington.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock